All's Fair in Love, War and Journalism
by blackberrymint
Summary: She's the best reporter the paper has. He's the captain of the Heliopolis PD. The two of them begrudgingly come together to solve a murder case that's far more dangerous than either of them anticipated.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny or its characters and names. This is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.

A/N: Cagalli is very much inspired by Lois Lane in this fic, both are favourite characters of mine. I love an AU and a slow burn, that's what this fic is. Reviews and feedback are always welcome. Thank you and I look forward to writing more in this fandom.

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><p><strong>All's Fair in Love, War and Journalism<strong>

**1**

He rammed on the accelerator as he sped his way down the still empty streets of the pre-dawn city. The air was frosty outside, the sun had yet to peak over the horizon. He had been called out of bed by his second-in-command to a downtown residency where the latest crime in his city had just been committed.

Athrun turned the bend and put on the brakes, pulling his car up to where a line of police cars had already been parked. Getting out of his car, he was immediately greeted by his youngest detective.

"Captain." A raven haired young man greeted him while handing him a takeaway cup.

"What happened here?" He gratefully took the cup offered, wrapping his hands around it to help keep warm in the cold early morning air.

Briefly, he wondered what spawned his subordinate to be on his best behaviour today. Shinn Asuka was hardly the type to greet him and get him his coffee. Then he remembered that Shinn had asked him for a day off next week to go to his sister's recital, and he had replied with a tentative '_Maybe_' just to be difficult after Shinn had questioned his authority one too many times.

"Two bullets, one through the heart, one through the head. It looks like a professional job." Shinn offered as he walked Athrun closer towards the crime scene, just outside a run down apartment complex in the slums of the city.

Athrun took a sip of the brown caffeinated liquid Shinn probably got from a nearby 24 hr drive-through and winced at how bad it tasted. He supposed no decent coffee places were open this late or early in the day. Although any caffeine would do right now as he blinked away the barely 2 hours of sleep he had gotten and gulped down the rest of the hot liquid as he contemplated on whether to give Shinn his day off.

He popped the empty coffee cup into a nearby street bin before he lifted the police tape and stepped through. The forensics team was still working away at the scene and he remained a few metres back while they gathered the evidence.

From where he stood, he could see the 2 bullet holes Shinn was talking about. It was not a pleasant scene to behold. The victim's blood was splattered all across the pavement in front of the apartment building. A frown appeared on Athrun's face as he determined that amongst the blood were also the victim's brain that had obviously been splattered from the exit hole on the other side of the victim's head.

A hand came up to run down the length of his tired face. This was the third victim he had seen executed in such a fashion. One to the chest to incapacitate the target, then a second one to the brain to ensure the job was done. The first victim was 4 months ago, the last one last month. There wasn't any connection he could make between the first two victims but he wondered if this third one could prove to be the link between them.

"Where's Joule?" Athrun turned to his subordinate who was still accompanying him.

Shinn snorted, "Lieutenant Joule's probably terrorising the residents." He replied, unable to keep up his respectful persona for too long.

"Tell him I want to speak to him." Athrun ordered and watched as the black-haired boy scurried off in search of his superior officer.

He turned his attention back to the crime scene in front of him when from the corner of his eye he caught sight of streaks of blonde hair. Immediately he could feel a headache coming on.

"Bloody hell." Athrun cursed under his breath as he made his way across as promptly as possible.

As he approached closer, he could make out the back of a petite blonde figure, holding a notepad in one hand and chatting quite lively with one of his uniformed officers. He didn't need to see the blonde's face to know who it was, and judging from the smitten smile on his officer's face, he didn't need to ask to know that she had charmed her way into the closed off area.

"I thought I said no talking to the press." Athrun barked at the rookie police officer who was too engrossed with the blonde reporter to even notice Athrun approach.

The smile on the officer's face immediately froze when he heard the iciness in Athrun's voice. His face went pale as he saluted Athrun. "C-Captain. I was just umm..." He didn't get to stutter through his explanation when the blonde reporter briskly turned around.

Her amber eyes, as striking and determined as he last remembered stared unflinchingly back at his own emerald ones. A wry smile was on her face as she greeted the police captain. "Nice of you to _finally_ join us Captain Zala."

Athrun held back the urge to roll his eyes. He had no idea how the tenacious reporter got to the crime scene before he did, considering he was notified immediately when the police was called. Then again, he had learnt not to underestimate where the reporter got her sources from. Cagalli Yula always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or as she would put it, the right place at the right time for the right story.

"Miss Yula," he greeted back forcing an unconvincing smile on his face, "don't you have some beauty sleep to catch up on?" He asked then added wryly, "It's beginning to show on your face."

Cagalli offered him a scowl which satisfied Athrun slightly. Although he would never admit it, Cagalli Yula was not the type of woman who needed the beauty sleep. She was already naturally beautiful. Not in the drop dead gorgeous, wars have been fought over her beauty kind of way. Her beauty was more subtle, ever growing, the kind that makes you want to look harder, stare longer, and the more you see, the more appreciative and enigmatic her beauty becomes.

Athrun mentally shook himself free from his thoughts, and noticed that this time Cagalli probably did need some more sleep. Judging from the dark circles that enclosed her eyes, she probably didn't get any more sleep than he did.

"If you'll follow me Miss Yula." Athrun said as his arm came around to touch her lightly on her back as he made a motion to escort her away from the crime scene.

The rookie officer had taken the opportunity to make himself disappear in the moments Athrun was caught up with staring at the golden haired journalist, and he made a mental note to reprimand the young officer later, he wasn't getting away that easily. Cagalli protested quite stubbornly as predicted and Athrun found his arm and hand now pressed quite firmly against the small of her back in an effort to push her along to the other side of the tape.

"I have a right to be here. Freedom of the press." The blonde woman challenged, her clear yet husky voice growing steadily louder each step they took.

"You have a right to observe from the sidelines and _not_ disrupt the investigation." Athrun replied back then with a final push she was relinquished onto the sidewalk on the other side of the street.

Athrun turned away and eyed two nearby officers who immediately sensed what the captain wanted and moved to stand protectively in front of the closed off area, barricading against Cagalli who had immediately tried to follow Athrun back through.

He could hear her huffing and puffing behind him and the mental image of her fuming face brought a satisfied smirk on his face. It didn't last long though as Athrun knew from past experience that it wouldn't take long till she snuck through again.

He felt the throbbing against his skull pound harder.

* * *

><p>Cagalli narrowed her eyes as she watched the police captain stroll off to disappear amidst the other officers and scurrying forensics team. Her eyes trailed back down at the notes she had taken and the very limited although somewhat enlightening pieces of information she was able to scavenge off the rookie officer earlier.<p>

"Third victim killed this way." She mused to herself. Serial killer or professional for hire? Unfortunately the two lumps of beef Athrun had placed in front of the crime scene to keep her out were not going to let her find out.

She grinned despite this. She supposed it was time for her do some sneaking around.

Quietly Cagalli slipped away from the crime scene and started surveying the area. Eventually making her way through some deserted back-end alleyways, her heart leapt in jubilation when she found it led to the back of the building.

Looking up, she could make out from the dim lighting a fire escape route that led down from the balconies and windows of the apartment complex. And just a couple of metres above the ground from where she was, was the steel ladder that led up to those balconies.

The reporter stuffed her notepad and pen into the pockets of her coat and stretched her legs. There was a reason why she preferred wearing sneakers and pants on the job as opposed to the heels and pencil skirts her peers seemed fond of. Backing up several metres she mentally calculated how many steps she needed then took off in a sprint and leapt up. Her hands grabbed onto the end of the ladder, and sensing that she had a strong enough grip, she pulled herself upwards.

Those gym training sessions were paying off, she mused to herself as she pulled herself up without too much difficulty. She's always been an active person, her job required her to be so, but it wasn't until quite recently, when she was dangling from a building after being pushed by a disgruntled public servant after she threatened to expose him for dipping into public funds, that she realised she needed better upper body strength. She took solace in knowing that at least Athrun had put the man behind bars for embezzling funds _and_ attempted murder.

As she steadied herself onto the first balcony and peered down at the length she had just climbed, a satisfied smile crinkled her features reaching her eyes. She wondered which floor the victim had come from. Judging from the position the body was lying in, she surmised that he was probably just leaving the building when he was brutally gunned down. Either he was a resident here, or he was visiting someone here.

Distorted voices from above caught her attention. She recognised one of the voices even if she couldn't quite make out the words. There was only one person who could come off so angry and disgruntled even through muffled brick walls. And that gave her the answer to her question, the victim must have come from the third floor. Her amber eyes glinted in the dark, reflecting the moonlight as she resumed her climb and stealthily made her way up to where the voices were.

Carefully and cautiously, Cagalli peeked through the window of the hallway of the third floor. Seeing the coast was clear, she lifted the window open and climbed through.

"What do you mean you didn't hear anything!" A loud voice rang out in the corridors as soon as she stepped in.

She winced at the ringing in her ears. Judging from the way the voice echoed, she deduced that Lieutenant Joule was probably around the bend, and mentally noted to herself not to head in that direction.

"You're telling me that 2 gunshots, right beneath your feet, and you slept through it?!" The voice continued indignantly.

She did briefly contemplate if she should eavesdrop on the conversation in case something of importance came up, however judging from what she's heard, the conversation seemed quite one-sided.

Lieutenant Joule's interviewing techniques usually consisted of him either scaring the crap out of the witness or suspect that they ended up spilling everything to him, or pissing them off so much that they would refuse to tell him anything. It was more like an interrogation than an interview really. This was contrasted to Captain Zala's more calm and rational approach. They really were the good cop bad cop duo of Heliopolis' police force as Cagalli had once pointed out to the begrudging two men.

Moving on in the opposite direction of Yzak's heated questioning, Cagalli decided to do some interviewing of her own and knocked on the last door in the hallway.

It didn't take too long for the door to creak open, as everyone in the building were probably woken by Yzak's explosive voice, if the gunshots didn't first wake them.

A black mop of hair peered out to the hallway. The man behind the door pushed a pair of glasses up his nose as his eyes focused on the young blonde woman in front of him.

"I've already told that screaming police officer all I know."

"My apologies." Cagalli said as she put on her most professional manners. "But I'm not with the police. My name is Cagalli Yula, I'm from-"

She didn't get to finish her introduction when a dawn of recognition crossed the man's face.

"You're that reporter from The Orb! No comment."

"And my reputation precedes me." Cagalli muttered to herself as she felt the wind blow back her bangs from the swift motion of the door closing on her face.

Cagalli took a deep breath and sighed. Not unlike Yzak who usually received one of two reactions when he interviewed subjects, Cagalli also received one of two reactions. They would hear the word reporter and immediately be suspicious of her, or willingly spill everything they knew in hopes that she would quote them in her articles.

She was not too surprised that the man had recognised her. After all she made all the headlines, for all the wrong reasons, when she was pushed out of a window. Kisaka had been quick to remind her that a reporter reported the news, they weren't supposed to _be_ the news. Although most of her lament for that incident was due to the fact that Yuna Roma Seiran had gotten the byline on the front page for her almost fall instead of her story on corruption in the public sector. It wasn't like she had actually fallen to her death or anything. That would have made a different story. Cagalli had the foresight to tip off the police about the corruption and embezzlement before she confronted the man and luckily they had gotten there in the nick of time for Athrun to pull her up just as her fingers were about to slip from the window sill she was so desperately hanging onto.

What made it worse was that she couldn't report on the incident herself, as Kisaka also reminded her that she was too close to the story, literally _the_ _story_ itself, for her to remain objective when reporting. So the story had gone to Yuna instead, who flaunted the front page article in her face for the next two weeks, and she had given him the story on a silver platter.

That little incident had made Cagalli Yula a household name for all of two days, the day it was reported, and the day of the court ruling sentencing her attacker to 35 years in prison. She wondered what kind of strings Athrun pulled to get her attacker sentenced for that many years. After all she had seen murderers sentenced for much much less, although she supposed an attempted murder conviction coupled with government corruption earned him the additional years.

Aside from that, Around The Orb was also the most circulated newspaper in all of Orb and her articles with her name on it quite often landed on the front page for public consumption.

Cagalli decided to try her luck at the next door and knocked, waiting patiently for a response.

An elderly woman opened the door this time and her gentle features reminded her of another older woman she knew who lived across the hallway from her. Cagalli smiled genuinely as she greeted the woman.

"Sorry to disturb you, my name is Cagalli Yula from Around The Orb, I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about what's happened here?" She asked politely while showing the woman her press badge.

The elderly woman squinted her eyes, not having the ease of her reading glasses on. When she could make out her ID, a smile beamed across the grey haired lady's face.

"Oh, a reporter." She greeted warmly. "I recognise your name. Why I must read your articles all the time in The Orb."

Cagalli's smile brightened as she remembered that there was a third reaction to hearing her name and profession, albeit a very very rare one. It was that of appreciation for her work.

"Your article on the disgraceful conditions at the local orphanage really opened my eyes."

"Thank you." Cagalli said kindly then frowned. Although her article had incited an investigation into helping improve conditions at the orphanage, it had been stuck in bureaucracy ever since and scarcely progressed. "Unfortunately not much has changed."

"You made an old ignorant fool like me a little less ignorant, and perhaps that little donation I put in after reading your article will help just a little." The older woman encouraged.

"Thank you." Cagalli thanked again, feeling grateful for her words. She knew when she first took on her profession that it was going to be a hard battle. She was fighting with words after all, not fists or swords. But Cagalli knew that words shaped the world. Slowly but surely. History books were written with words, and the media was a powerful tool to sway public opinion. Although sometimes she wondered if she could be changing the world in a more productive way, if she had become a politician like her father wanted her to, or joined the resistance when she was in Northern Africa.

"What questions did you want to ask me dear?" The woman prompted drawing Cagalli out of her thoughts. She took out her notepad from within her coat's pockets.

"Did you know the victim?"

"Not very well." The lady replied earnestly. "I see him around of course, he lives just down the hall, but he keeps to himself. I don't think he's a bad child though." She was quick to add, not wanting to give Cagalli the wrong impression of the recently deceased, despite barely knowing him at all.

"Were you awake when the shooting happened?"

"Oh no, I sleep very early, this body needs all the rest it can get."

"Then I won't take up too much of your time." She quickly assured, feeling guilty for keeping the older woman from rest. "Do you know what his name was? Has he ever introduced himself to you?"

"I'm afraid not, very private that boy," she paused for a second as a memory jumped up at her, "actually I do recall his name being Clotho. He doesn't get many visitors but a young lad started visiting him a couple of weeks ago, he was here just yesterday too, and I remember the visitor called him Clotho."

Cagalli's ears perked up at the mention of the visitor, "Can you describe what the visitor looked like?"

The elderly woman took a moment to recall what she remembered. "He was a very handsome young man." She stated after a while. "Brown ruffled hair, in that kind of messy manner that's quite trendy with the youths today. A slim build, average height for a boy his age."

"And how old do you think he was?"

"Looks around the same age as you, I'd imagine."

"Did Clotho ever call the visitor by his name?"

"Not that I heard."

Cagalli nodded as she jotted down the information she had gathered.

"Is there anything else that you might be able to tell me? Something out of the ordinary? Weird behaviours maybe?"

"He did look a bit tense these past few days, always looking over his shoulder but I figured that it was probably because the rent was due and he was keeping a look out for the landlord. Most people here are just trying to get by the best they could."

Cagalli thanked the elderly lady sensing there was nothing more that she could tell her. She reached into her breast pocket and handed the woman her business card.

"If you remember anything else, please give me a call, Mrs?"

"Rose. Just Rose." The elderly woman replied with gentle affection.

Cagalli smiled in response. "Rose," she addressed the elder lady, "feel free to call me if you ever need anything."

"Thank you dear, I'll keep that in mind. And you keep out of trouble young lady." She gave Cagalli a wink before closing the door.

Cagalli stepped away from Rose's apartment and tucked her notepad back into her pockets. That was when she realised the hallway was suddenly quiet, _too_ quiet. She could no longer make out Yzak's heated shouts from the other side, instead her ears picked up the sound of footsteps coming closer towards her.

_Oh shit._

She was only able to mentally vocalise those words before a second later Lieutenant Yzak Joule rounded the bend followed closely by two others she recognised as Dearka Elsman and Shinn Asuka.

Yzak's steps stopped when he caught sight of Cagalli down the length of the corridor.

"What is _that_ woman doing here?!" He exploded immediately, clear anger was displayed in his crystal blue eyes, distorting his otherwise handsome face.

Dearka on the other hand lit up immediately upon recognising the reporter. "Oh hey, it's the captain's girlfriend!" He gleefully greeted.

Cagalli's lips contorted into a thin line but before she could open her mouth and dispute Dearka's baseless claims, Yzak did it for her.

"That woman is NOT Zala's GIRLFRIEND." The lieutenant spewed out enunciating the word girlfriend as if it was poison on his tongue. "I refuse to believe that even Zala has such bad taste in women!"

Cagalli who had been on the verge of agreeing with Yzak, suddenly paused. "And what exactly is wrong with me?" She spewed right back.

"Let's see," Yzak began as he started counting off his fingers, "you're nosy, stubborn, brash, reckless, argumentative, persistent, uncompromising, you're absolutely insufferable!"

To the side Dearka and Shinn snickered to themselves, wondering if their lieutenant realised he just closely described himself.

"I'll have you know those are some of my best qualities!" Cagalli barked back.

"And you dress like a man!"

"What do you care what I wear?!"

Sensing that the heated conversation was verging on the dangerous, Dearka decided to jump in. Reaching an arm over Yzak's shoulder, "Don't be so harsh on her Yzak." Dearka interrupted. "She has helped us out in the past, remember that robbery case? The Orb circulated the suspect's image and we managed to catch the guy thanks to the appeal to the citizens Miss Yula wrote."

Yzak promptly removed Dearka's arm and glared at his long time comrade. "I don't care what she's done for us in the past, she is _not_ interrupting _this_ investigation." He gritted through his teeth then made a beeline for Cagalli. His hand tightly clamped down on Cagalli's wrist dragging the reporter towards the flight of stairs.

"Hey! Let go of me!" She protested as she struggled to free herself from Yzak's grip. However Yzak was not the type of person to kindly escort anyone off the premises like Athrun had done earlier. He was quite happy to use force if necessary.

He had managed to drag a protesting Cagalli to the bottom of the stairs and almost out of the building when they ran into the blue-haired captain at the entrance.

Athrun stared dumbfounded at the sight of his lieutenant yanking a headache-inducing blonde behind him and narrowed his eyes swiftly.

"What the hell is going on here?" Athrun asked, his voice dangerously low signalling his sour mood.

"I found Lieutenant Joule." Shinn piped up in the background, following behind with Dearka.

Athrun let out a deep breath and rubbed his temples. He could pretty much guess what had happened without anyone telling him. "Yzak, let go of Miss Yula."

Cagalli huffed with indignation as she pulled her hand out of Yzak's grip when the lieutenant's fingers slackened at his captain's words.

Athrun's eyes then landed on Shinn. "Asuka, would you kindly escort Miss Yula home?"

Shinn looked up in surprise. "You want _me_ to drive her home?!" He cried outlandishly. "I'm not her babysitter or chauffeur!" He protested and then stopped when the captain took a step towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Take Miss Yula home Shinn and you can have your day off." He told him. The tight grip Athrun had on his shoulder told Shinn that his captain was not up for an argument.

Grudgingly, Shinn started walking towards the entrance, taking a glance toward Cagalli.

"Are you coming?" He barked, irritation filling the entirety of his voice.

The feisty blonde ignored him and glared at Athrun who was now in front of her. "I don't need an escort home. I'm perfectly capable of finding my own way home, and I'll go home when I'm ready to go home." She challenged unflinchingly at the police captain.

Athrun's eyes did not waver against hers. "Don't push your luck today Cagalli." He told her sternly then turned on his heels and motioned Yzak and Dearka to follow him.

Cagalli heaved a great sigh, and realising she had lost the argument, relented and joined Shinn.

"Just so you know, I _hate_ reporters." Shinn vehemently stated as he marched towards his dark camry, with Cagalli following behind him.

"Gee, what gave that away."

* * *

><p>"Where do you live?" He asked as he pulled out of the narrow street they were on.<p>

"Not far from here actually. Turn onto the next road." She pointed up ahead to the left.

Shinn furrowed his eyebrows. He had assumed that the reporter would live somewhere closer to the central. He did not expect her to live downtown in the slimiest part of the city.

Sensing Shinn's train of thoughts Cagalli offered a reply. "How else did you think I made it to the crime scene before Captain Zala, if I didn't live nearby?"

Agreeing with the logic, Shinn nodded.

"You know, you and I are not that different." Cagalli pointed out which earned a scorn on Shinn's face.

"How exactly are we similar in any way?" The raven haired detective demanded. Shinn peeled his eyes away from the road for a second to look at the blonde reporter in the passenger seat. Cagalli sat there, eyes gazing into the distance with a pensive expression on her face.

"For starters, we both seek the truth." She countered, her voice was deep and assured as if she had given it quite a lot of thought. "We both want justice for the people of this world. We both serve the public." She continued. "And we both want to find who's responsible for the shooting tonight."

Shinn found himself staring at the reporter again, having been caught unaware by her words. He wasn't quite sure if journalists served the public, in his experience, they mostly served themselves. But they did seek the truth. However dark, twisted or dangerous the truth was, Cagalli Yula always chased after it, fiercely and fearlessly. He supposed there was some kind of admirable quality to it. To _her_.

"Pull-up just here." Cagalli prompted.

"What? Here?" Shinn asked confused as he pulled up to the curb as instructed. He surveyed the area, it hardly looked like a place to live, with its numerous back-end alleyways. Before he could question the blonde any further, Cagalli had already gotten out of the car and dashed down one of the dark alleyways, leaving Shinn in utter confusion.

He stared after her fleeting back, for a few seconds stunned, before the realisation hit him at what she had done.

"God damnit!" Shinn cursed aloud and hit his head against the steering wheel as he finally realised that the alleyway the reporter had just disappeared into, was in the direction of the building they had just come from, two streets down.

Cagalli Yula had tricked him.

"I hate reporters!" Shinn iterated to himself as he put the car in drive mode again and sped back to the building in hopes of finding the reporter before his captain caught wind of his embarrassing blunder.

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><p>Cagalli navigated her way through the twists and turns of the narrow alleys before finally coming across the familiar sight of the building. She felt a little guilty for tricking the young detective like that, but consoled herself that she was teaching him a valuable life lesson. Never trust a reporter. As she approached the back of the building once more, she could hear two people talking, their voices travelling through the air gaps of a backdoor.<p>

Her lips curled up into a mischievous smile as she cautiously approached the door and pressed her ear against the wooden surface.

* * *

><p>Athrun stared down at the tablet his second-in-command had handed him of the victim and scrolled through the profile.<p>

"Any links with the other murder cases?" He questioned.

"None that stood out." Yzak replied. "Although Clotho Buer, and Orga Sabnak's parents worked in the science fields, different areas of science and never with the same employer from what we could see. They're also deceased."

Athrun nodded, his eyes still wandering over the information sent over from headquarters.

"Your best guess?"

"Gang-related."

"I agree. All three men were gunned down in execution styled killings. Get Dearka to do a search of similar shootings in other cities." Athrun requested as he handed the tablet back to Yzak. "I want to know if this is contained in Heliopolis or if we're looking for a gang with intercity, interstate or god forbid international influence."

He was about to go over the initial forensics findings with Yzak when an audible shuffle from the door behind him caught his attention. Green eyes narrowed suspiciously. It was then he noticed through the window that Shinn's car was parked outside again. He knew where Cagalli lived and it would have taken much longer to drive her there and back.

"Have Elsman also look into what the maximum sentence for trespassing is." Athrun continued on, putting a finger to his lips at Yzak's confused expression as he quietly shifted towards the door.

The lieutenant quickly caught on, "I'd say it'd be about 5 years in prison." He lied knowing full well that most trespassing charges ended with a fine and a slap on the wrist.

"What about eavesdropping on confidential information?" Athrun mused. At that second, his fingers gripped the doorhandle and yanked it open.

As the door swung aside, he caught sight of blonde hair bellowing wildly as the reporter tried to make a run for it. But Cagalli had caught on to him knowing too late and Athrun reached out and grabbed an arm to stop her from escaping.

Swiftly, Athrun manoeuvred Cagalli's arm behind her back and took out a handcuff from within his jacket. Within moments she heard the clang of her wrists being clasped in metal.

"What? Hey!" Cagalli's eyes widened in shock as she struggled against her binds. "Handcuffs?!" She cried in outrage. "You handcuffed me?!" She repeated, still not quite believing what Athrun Zala had done.

"I warned you not to push your luck." Athrun chided quite dangerously to her. Then proceeded to push her through the building to the front entrance.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing Athrun?" Cagalli gritted through her teeth, seething madly as Athrun paraded her outside like a convicted criminal.

"You're hardly in a position to be demanding anything Miss Yula." He replied rather coolly, although she didn't miss the way her name clipped at the end of the sentence.

He stopped her in front of a flashing police car and lowered her head, pushing her into the back seat like she was some common thug.

Cagalli could feel her face burn. Feeling humiliated as Athrun had marched her across the short distance between the building and the police car. His entire homicide unit had probably just witnessed her walk of shame.

She cursed out loud. She should have known. Athrun always seemed to possess a 6th sense around her, one aimed at detecting her presence. She didn't know how he did it, but he always seemed to know when she was around. She could never get away with spying on him for too long.

"Where the hell is Asuka?" She heard Athrun mutter outside the car. "Forget it I'll take her home myself." Athrun gasped in exasperation as he relented that the only way to get Cagalli away from the crime scene was to take her home himself.

Her boiling anger dropped slightly as she realised that Athrun never planned to press charges on her. He was taking her home instead of to the police station. Still she glared sharp needles at the man as he climbed into the driver's seat in front.

Athrun peered at her through his rearview mirror. Cagalli was literally red, with anger or humiliation, he wasn't quite sure. But it reminded him of the first time he saw her blush. It was also the first time she had ever worn a dress in front of him, and he had made a comment that it strangely suited her, which had caused her cheeks to flush from first embarrassment, and then indignation as she demanded why he thought that it was strange.

Athrun shifted his eyes away from the glares she was giving him through the mirror and pulled the car onto the road, driving down a familiar route he knew of to her apartment closer to the city hub.

"Is this really necessary?" Athrun heard her comment after what seemed like a millennia of silence from her.

He peered through the mirror and saw her motioning behind her to the handcuffs behind her back.

"I've found every precaution is necessary when it concerns you."

He received an agitated grunt as a response to his response and watched with wary amusement as she fumbled around in the back seat, still struggling with the metal cuffs.

When he pulled up to the curb of her apartment 20 minutes later, she had given up struggling and sat quietly in the back seat as she watched Athrun get out of the car and open the backseat door.

He leaned in, his form hunching over hers and she could feel him breathe out a tired sigh. His breath softly blowed against the exposed skin of her neck, as his fingers daftly unlocked her binds. She found herself heating up again, although this time not from anger but from his proximity. She rubbed at her wrists sourly as they were set free before accepting the hand Athrun offered her as he helped her out of the car.

As they stood in front of each other, Athrun could sense a silent tension in the air. Probably sprouted on by the fact they were both feeling a little guilty over their actions, but not enough to apologise for it.

"Good night Miss Yula." Athrun was first to break the silence.

Cagalli seemed to have accepted it. "Good morning Captain Zala." She replied in response and leaped up the stone steps to her apartment building.

As she made her way to the second floor where she lived, she could see Athrun driving away from the window.

"Late night rendezvous with your boyfriend?" A voice called out to her as she was searching for the keys to her apartment.

"I don't have a boyfriend Mrs M." Cagalli clarified, recognising the voice. She turned around and challenged the unconvinced look her neighbour was giving her.

"You don't expect me to believe that do you? I've seen that young gentleman escort you home several times before." Mana said as she winked.

"He was just giving me a lift." Cagalli promptly explained. "We're not going out." Then deciding to change the subject she asked, "What are you doing out so late anyways Mrs M.?"

Mana indicated to the chubby furball in her arms. "Scruffles escaped through the window again, I had to go look for him."

The cat purred in her arms as the older woman stroked it lovingly.

Cagalli stared down at the cat in question. Sensing her attention on it, the cat's eyes glared up at her and hissed. She frowned. While she got along well with its owner, Scruffles had never liked Cagalli ever since that time she accidentally stepped on its tail as she was exiting her apartment. It strangely reminded Cagalli of Yzak, what with its hissing and gleaming white coat of fur.

Mana made a motion to head back into her apartment, as Cagalli pulled out her keys.

"My dear, I may not be young anymore, but no man drives a lady home so late at night if he didn't like her."

Before Cagalli could rebut that she was no lady, Mana had disappeared behind her door.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny or its characters and names. This is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.

A/N: I want to say THANK YOU for the support that this fic has received so far! I honestly did not expect to get such a good response. Thanks to everyone who faved, followed, and especially reviewed! You've definitely motivated me in writing this story, and I appreciate it.

* * *

><p><strong>All's Fair in Love, War and Journalism<strong>

**2**

Cagalli groaned as she rolled over and hit the snooze button on her alarm clock. She had barely gotten a wink of sleep last night before it was morning again.

She had spent her time late last night, or early this morning, after Athrun had dropped her off, on the draft for her article, and sent it off to Kisaka for review before hitting the bedsheets.

Her lack of sleep coupled with her late night adventures of scaling buildings and dodging Athrun's people, had left her exhausted. However when the alarm clock went off again, Cagalli sat up from bed. She wondered if she could skip going into the office today. After all there wasn't much for her to do in the office. She could polish off her article with her laptop on her couch, then hit the city to see if she could get any more leads.

Reaching for her cell phone by her bedside table, she was about to place a call through to her editor-in-chief, when she noticed that he had already called her and left her a voicemail.

_"__Come into the office when you get this," _was all Kisaka had said and he did not sound happy.

Cagalli groaned and was almost tempted to flop back into bed and pull the blankets over her head. However she knew when she got a message like that from Kisaka, she couldn't dodge it. And it also usually meant that she was in trouble.

"Arghhhhh." Cagalli let out a muffled cry into her pillow before promptly getting up and getting dressed.

* * *

><p>She arrived at The Orb building half an hour later and made her way up to the 20th floor. Counting the numbers off until she reached hers, Cagalli mentally prepared herself for whatever trouble she was in.<p>

The elevator dinged, and she made her way out into the open plan office when someone spotted her and ran up to join her.

"Just a warning, the chief's not happy." A brunette said as she caught up to Cagalli with a sympathetic smile.

Cagalli frowned. She figured as much. "Thanks Miri."

Miriallia, the paper's photographer, patted her on the back and whispered good luck in her ear just before Cagalli arrived at their editor-in-chief's office.

Cagalli took a deep breath and did not bother knocking as she barged through the door.

"You finally managed to make it into the office." Kisaka commented, not at all surprised to be interrupted without warning, and even less surprised to find it was Cagalli.

"Why did you ask me to come in?"

Kisaka handed her a piece of paper across his office desk and motioned for her to take a seat.

She took the paper offered but did not bother sitting down.

"The Heliopolis Police Department has made an official complaint against you." Kisaka explained as he watched Cagalli's expression turn sour as she read through the complaint filed.

"Let me guess, Lieutenant Joule filed the complaint?"

"With Captain Zala's endorsement."

_Damn Athrun!_ Cagalli inwardly cursed as she reached the bottom of the piece of paper and sighted Athrun's signature next to Yzak's.

"What did I tell you about having run-ins with the police?" Kisaka's voice was beginning to rise, showing the anger that was boiling underneath the surface.

"A reporter has to do what a reporter has to do to get the story." Cagalli countered.

Kisaka heaved a sigh and leaned back into his chair. "You're lucky it's only a complaint, and they're not pressing charges."

"That's because they know that any charges won't stick." Cagalli stated quite confidently. "I was only doing my job. If they wanted to keep me out, they should have done their job better!"

"Don't go pushing your luck Cagalli." Kisaka warned gravely.

"Funny Zala said the same thing to me." She mused.

"Then maybe you should listen. Officially I do not condone your actions Cagalli." Kisaka said seriously, however Cagalli sensed a _but_ coming.

"Unofficially?" She inquired.

Kisaka sighed again but said just as seriously, "Unofficially, a reporter has to do what a reporter has to do as long as they don't get caught. Got it?"

She could feel a smile tugging at her lips as she replied. "Yes chief."

"And I mean it Cagalli. Be careful."

"You sound like I'm not being careful." Cagalli protested playfully as she made a motion to leave Kisaka's office.

"That's because I know you're not. And Cagalli?" Kisaka called out just before she left.

"Yes chief?"

"No story is worth risking your well-being over. Remember that will you?" He stressed, sternness laced with concern filled his voice.

"I'll try my best." Cagalli chirped as she closed the door behind her.

Kisaka let out a huge breath of air and slumped in his chair. "Sometimes I think that's not good enough." He muttered quietly to himself.

* * *

><p>Athrun sat back in his chair and eyed the clock in his office. He supposed that Cagalli had probably gotten into work already and read the complaint that Yzak had put in about her, which he had signed and agreed to.<p>

He wondered how much more pissed off she would be at him.

"Thinking about your girlfriend?" Dearka poked his head into his captain's office and commented upon seeing the faraway pensive look on his face.

Athrun immediately jolted out of his thoughts and scowled at the blond. "She is _not_ my girlfriend, and you will do well to remember that Sergeant Elsman."

Dearka raised his eyebrows in amusement. "I didn't even mention her name." He lifted his arms up in defence.

The look on his captain's face was priceless as Athrun realised his blunder.

"But let me take a guess. Her name is Ca-"

"Elsman!" Athrun quickly interrupted. "Did you come to my office for a reason?" He demanded, irritation clear on his face. Athrun funnily reminded Dearka of Yzak in that moment.

"Yes actually, I came here to give you my findings." Dearka held up the folder in his hands. He closed the door behind him as he stepped through and handed it to Athrun.

Athrun flipped open the folder and found his suspicions confirmed.

"How many cases are there?"

"26 similar shootings have been reported in the last two years in Orb. 18 of which were in the capital alone. The last shooting reported in Onogoro was ironically 5 months ago." Dearka remarked.

Only a month before the first case in Heliopolis, Athrun noted. Which could mean whoever was behind the shootings had recently relocated to Heliopolis.

"What about outside of Orb?" Athrun asked. He watched as his sergeant frowned and knew he wasn't going to like the answer.

"67 overseas, mainly in the Atlantic Federation, the States, and Africa."

"Do a comparison on which gangs are active in these countries."

"Already have." Dearka answered and indicated Athrun to look at the last page in his report.

Athrun's eyes skimmed through the analytical comparison Dearka had prepared and his line of sight immediately caught onto one particular name.

"Blue Cosmos."

Beside him Dearka nodded his head. A grave silence filled the room as Athrun considered the implications of this being true. Blue Cosmos was an underground criminal organisation which had stemmed from the Atlantic Federation. It's since quite heavily infiltrated Northern Africa, and parts of the South American States. But there was no indication of the underground syndicate ever infiltrating into Orb.

Until now.

Although there was no concrete evidence to back it, Athrun knew of rumors floating underground for years that the leader of Blue Cosmos had escaped the Atlantic Federation when most of its members were flushed out by the military. He was said to be in hiding in an unsuspecting territory. Orb had been thrown into the list of nations rumored to be where Djibril was hiding.

"Get me everything you can find about _Lord_ Djibril and how Blue Cosmos trades underground." Athrun commanded.

"Roger that. But it'll take some time." Dearka warned. "Since Blue Cosmos is not officially recognised as existing in Orb, I will have to send a request through Interpol for information other nations may have on them."

Athrun nodded his understanding. "Do what you can do."

"Excuse me miss! You're not supposed to go in there!" His secretary, Meyrin's voice suddenly sounded through the closed door of his office and a second later, the door came crashing open.

Athrun's eyes enlarged in shock as a blonde haired, golden eyed, pissed as hell Cagalli Yula waltzed right into his office, on the 8th floor, in a highly secured building of the Heliopolis Police Department.

Cagalli slammed down a piece of paper she was holding onto his desk, and glared at him through her golden bangs.

"Try again, Zala." She challenged, locking her amber eyes with his. Her expression was a mix of infuriation, defiance and pride. Then as quickly as she had entred, Cagalli turned back around and stormed out.

Athrun looked down at the piece of paper she had left there. It was the complaint letter Yzak had faxed through to The Orb. He sighed, crumbled up the letter and tossed it in the bin.

"How did she get in here?" Dearka mouthed next to him, completely dumbfounded at what just happened.

"I am sooooo sorry!" Meyrin cried on the other side of the room, clearly distraught. "I don't know what happened, she just…"

"It's okay Meyrin, there was nothing you could have done." Athrun spoke up evenly, calming his secretary. "And Dearka, I have long learnt, to question how Cagalli Yula does any of the things she manages to do is a cause for migraines. Speaking of which, Meyrin, would you kindly fetch me an aspirin and glass of water?"

His secretary nodded and left the room. Athrun then eyed Dearka who was still standing next to him. Sensing his captain's eyes, Dearka excused himself as well.

Slumping back into his chair, Athrun massaged his temples. He had managed to close the folder he was reading just in time before Cagalli barged in. Luckily the feisty reporter was not able to steal any glances into the investigation. If she found out that Blue Cosmos was involved with this case, god knows what kind of trouble she'll get into. Or what kind of danger she'll put herself in to get to the truth. He'll be forced to handcuff her to her room, just to keep her safe.

A sharp pain rang through his head at the thought of her being reckless.

Must she always push him?

* * *

><p>Cagalli pushed the door to the café open and a bell chimed in response. A young man greeted her from behind the counter.<p>

"How may I help you?" He asked her, wiping his wet hands on his apron.

"A cappuccino thanks."

The young man gestured to her to take a seat. "One cappuccino coming up. And just give me a shout if you need anything else." He informed with a friendly smile then turned to prepare her coffee.

Cagalli settled herself in and took out her notes from her bag, spreading it over the table of the booth she occupied in a quaint little coffee shop away from the buzz of the hub. She hadn't been to this particular café in the past, usually too busy to scope out new places. But ever since she had spied Yuna Seiran entering her favourite coffee joint last time, she had never been back there.

She hadn't really planned on making her way down to the police headquarters and confronting Athrun. She had simply wanted Athrun to know that she was not pleased with the complaint his department put through, and she wasn't quite over the humiliation he had inflicted on her by handcuffing her the night before either. Kisaka hadn't given her too much grief over the letter, however she's certain she'll be receiving a call from Human Resources soon concerning her behaviour, another call from Legal about the ramifications of her actions, and finally Occupational Health and Safety will be trying to force her into attending another one of their personal safety sessions, as if that will stop her from climbing buildings and running down dark alleyways. She's sure that they will use the fact that this wasn't the first complaint against her, against her.

And to make matters worse, she had walked into Yuna when she exited Kisaka's office. Yuna made a stupid remark about how she must be doing certain 'favours' for the police captain for him to let her off every time. And instead of punching Yuna Roma Seiran in the face like she wanted to, she had marched down to police headquarters instead.

Cagalli groaned. Yuna Roma Seiran always made matters worse. When they had first started working together, Yuna had tried to hit on her. She took no time to shut him down and ever since he's held some sort of vendetta against her, viciously spreading rumours about her in the office, while still making advances on her. _The nerve of that guy._

As an investigative reporter she had quite a bit of liberty concerning her office hours. Most of her job demanded she worked away from the office, searching or following leads for stories. Submissions were done through email now, she didn't even need to be present to hand in an article. Which meant Cagalli hightailed it out of there frequently. Most of the times because her job required her outside, other times because she didn't want to see Seiran's face, lest she lose her temper and punch him in it. Human Resources would definitely be on her back then. Especially considering the only reason Yuna even had a job with a prestige paper like Around The Orb was because his father was on the board of directors, and Cagalli was forced to put up with his presence. Not even Kisaka had the power to fire that numbskull.

Cagalli brushed the irritating thoughts out of her mind and focused back on her work. She lifted open her laptop and opened the folder with the research she had collected on the case.

_Clotho Buer._

He was the son of two plant biologists who had gone missing working in the South American jungles in the States. Had a history with drug addiction. He likely sold off the assets he inherited from his parents to fund his addiction, which would explain why he was living in a low-socio economic neighborhood.

Although it had seemed that he tried to curb his addiction, admitting himself into a rehab clinic 3 months ago. The nurse she had rung up had told her Clotho was completely free from the addiction by the time he left the clinic.

If this was gang-related as the police believed, it was likely to do with drugs. Perhaps he owed the gang money, or he was a seller himself. They wouldn't be too happy with him if he tried to get out of being a street vendor after ridding himself of his addiction.

Cagalli frowned. It would be such a pity if a man had died because he tried to turn his life around.

"Here you go miss." The barista said as he placed a freshly brewed cappuccino at her table.

Cagalli looked up to thank him and noticed the striking purple eyes he had for the first time. "Have we met before?" She questioned out of the blue.

"No I don't think so." The young man replied, a little stupefied by her question.

Cagalli shook her head and smiled at him to disregard her comment, not quite sure what prompted her question in the first place. She was sure that if she's seen those eyes before she would remember them.

"Although I do know who you are." The barista admitted shyly while rubbing the back of his head, messing up his already quite messy brown mop of hair.

"You do?"

"You're Cagalli Yula, the star reporter for Around The Orb." The man uttered smiling sheepishly at her. "You're kind of famous."

At his words, Cagalli groaned. "If you're referring to the incident where the photo of me dangling from the 14th floor window was splashed on the front page of Around The Orb, Heliopolis Express, Cosmic Times, The Daily Circle," Cagalli counted as she listed off The Orb and its competitors, "and god forbid that tabloid Helios' Scoop which photoshopped off my legs and replaced them with the under-view of someone else's panties through a skirt-"

"You weren't wearing a skirt." The barista added for her benefit.

"-then I'd rather crawl into a hole and die than to be remembered for _that_ as my contribution to society."

The young man chuckled after Cagalli finished ranting her frustrations, clearly amused at Cagalli and the embarrassment that she still felt till this day.

"Actually when I said you were famous, I was referring to all the articles you've written." He clarified. He offered a genuine smile at Cagalli, kindness and gentleness radiating from his expression. "I read The Orb every morning and I find your articles are always enlightening and insightful. I guess you're the only reporter who I actually know the name of, and look for in the byline when I read the news."

"Oh." Cagalli turned red with a blush at the compliment she just received. Then a smile beamed across her face lighting up her eyes like the sun. "Thank you, Kira." She read his name from his nametag.

"If you don't mind me asking, what story are you working on this time?"

"A homicide." Cagalli replied. "It occurred early in the morning and I wasn't able to make the print edition. But my report is up on Around The Orb's website if you want to take a look."

"Do the police have any suspects?" The barista inquired curiously.

Cagalli tilted her head, if they did they wouldn't be telling her. "Not that I know of. But I'm working on finding out the details."

"Well don't work too hard Miss Yula. I for one do not want to see you hanging off another building." With that he left to attend to another customer.

Cagalli sipped her coffee, savouring the taste, as she continued reading through the information she had gathered hoping to piece something together. After reading for a while, she realised that the only way forward with her investigation was to narrow down which criminal group was responsible for Mr Buer's death. Orb's criminal underground wasn't as influential as crime syndicates overseas. The peace in Orb had mainly discouraged the growth of any large underground organisations, as crime tended to feed off chaos and Orb was relatively stable. The downside to that was without a major influential power in the underground scene, many smaller powers had cropped up. There were too many small scale gangs in operation in Orb, and Heliopolis alone had its fare share of minor gang activity.

Luckily Cagalli knew just the right person, or _persons_ who could help her. She ruffled through her bag for her wallet, leaving a generous tip on the table.

"Did you get a lead?" The barista asked as he came over to her just as she was gathering her things.

"Not sure, but I will find out." She replied with a self-assured smile.

"Good luck Miss Yula."

"Cagalli is just fine." Cagalli called over her shoulders as she exited the shop.

Kira stared after her and watched her disappear onto the street. He looked down and glared at the piece of paper he held in his hands. One he had slipped away from Cagalli's table unnoticed as she was busy with gathering everything else she had spread across it. His eyes hardened as he glanced through her messy handwriting, written hurriedly in shorthand.

_Visitor. Young man. Brown hair, messy, slim, average height–170? 24?_

Kira crumpled the piece of paper in his hand.

Why did _she_ have to be looking into this case?

* * *

><p>"Zala." Yzak knocked on his door.<p>

Athrun lifted his head from the files he was reading.

"We found this in the victim's apartment." Yzak wasted no time in making his point as he handed something in a clear ziplock bag to Athrun.

Athrun examined it carefully. He recognised the logo on the card inside. "The Alliance Bar." He noted. "VIP entry?"

Yzak nodded. "I've had Hahnenfuss run a test on it already. It's confirmed that it belonged to Clotho Buer. And the last time the card was scanned was 2 weeks ago."

"Interesting." Athrun mulled. "This proves that the shooting was definitely related to the underground. However this won't confirm if it's Blue Cosmos or even the existence of Blue Cosmos."

"What do you suggest?" Yzak asked sensing his captain was planning something.

"What do you think are the chances of us gaining any kind of information if you or I show up there, flashing our badges to question the manager and workers?"

Yzak snorted. Was this a trick question? "Absolutely zero."

Athrun smirked. "Then I guess we won't show them our badges. Ask Shiho if she could alter Buer's member card to admit a different person. We're going on an undercover operation tonight."

* * *

><p>Cagalli got out of the taxi and started walking, headed towards a bar at the end of the street. It was deserted at this time of the day, but she knew from experience that it was very lively at night.<p>

As she pushed the front door open, she heard a voice call out from the back, "We're not open in the day!"

"Then you should keep the door locked!" She replied back with jest in her voice.

A head peeked through from a door behind the counter as Cagalli made herself comfortable on the stool.

"You again." The man sprouting shortly cropped green hair remarked upon seeing Cagalli.

"Your favourite customer."

"_Least_ favourite customer." He corrected her. "Since you never pay."

"Hey! I resent that!" Cagalli defended. "I would pay, except you never let me."

At this Sting offered her a smile. "Stellar!" He called towards the back. "_Your_ favourite customer is here!" He then turned his attention back to Cagalli. "So what do we owe the honour of this visit Miss Yula?"

"Information."

"It's the only reason you ever visit us." Auel's voice came around from behind Sting, as he and Stellar emerged from the back as well.

"Cagalli!" Stellar exclaimed ecstatically and rushed towards the other blonde's side.

Cagalli engulfed her in a warm and affectionate hug before the younger blonde girl settled herself on the stool next to hers.

"I would visit more often, it's just been really busy lately." Cagalli replied, feeling slightly guilty that what Auel said was true.

"We get it. You're too busy saving the world." Sting commented.

"One word at a time." Auel teased.

She rolled her eyes at them. Neither boys seemed very amiable with her profession. But she chose it for a reason and she was planning to stick to it, even if it meant she had to change the world one word at a time.

"What do you want to know?" Sting placed both his hands on the bar counter leaning on their weight.

"There was a gang-related shooting early this morning downtown. The victim seemed to have been executed by a professional killer. I was hoping you might be able to help me narrow down the list of which gang might be responsible." Cagalli explained.

Sting and Auel eyed each other wearily at Cagalli's request.

"We've been out of the scene for quite a while now Cagalli." Sting said. "I can probably give you a list of all the active gangs in Heliopolis, but it'll be hard to narrow it down for you."

"There must be something you know." Cagalli pushed on. "The victim was executed with a bullet to the chest and a bullet to the head. Does that sound familiar?"

Auel's eyes enlarged and then immediately schooled his expression as he realised his slip.

"There _is_ something you know." Cagalli quickly caught on and narrowed her eyes. She leaned closer, examining Auel on the other side of the counter from her.

"It's a rumour. You'll be chasing a ghost." Auel tried to dissuade.

"I love a good chase." Cagalli answered in response.

She caught Sting and Auel glancing uncertainly at each other again before Sting dropped his head and finally relented.

"Ever since when we were still operating underground there were whispers. Very faint, barely audible, or credible." Sting warned. "Back then a lot of small time gang leaders were dropping dead left and right. Bullet to the heart and head. There was definitely a power struggle going on with no one really knowing who the major player was. I don't think the police ever caught onto the initial killings as they were covered up. But well, we heard that an international syndicate had entred the scene in Orb at the time, except no one really knew who they were, where they operated, how they operated or even if they operated at all. And five years later, the supposed underground powerhouse is still more or less just a rumour." Sting revealed.

When he finished what he had to say, Cagalli was in deep thought.

"If it were true, the underground would know by now, and not let it fester as unsubstantiated rumours in the dark." Auel added.

"If it were truly just a rumour, it would have died out five years ago." Cagalli reasoned, seriousness and determination tainted her words. "Since you can't tell me any more, where would I go to obtain more information?"

"You're chasing ghosts! Ghosts!" Auel repeated despite knowing full well there was no persuading Cagalli Yula to turn back now.

Sting sighed alongside Auel then pointed to Stellar. "You'll have to ask her."

Cagalli blinked a little surprised, then turned to the girl beside her. "Stellar?" She queried.

Stellar smiled up at her. "Stellar knows where Cagalli can go. Stellar used to work there."

* * *

><p>AN: This is where I admit that I don't have a very good grasp on Sting or Auel's characters from the show, so apologies if they appear OOC in this fic. Please do point out to me if you feel they (or any characters) are OOC that it bothers you. With that said, I hope you'll allow me some flexibilities with the characters in this fic. Always open to reviews. Thank you.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny or its characters and names. This is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.

A/N: Happy New Year!

* * *

><p><strong>All's Fair in Love, War and Journalism<strong>

**3**

The Alliance Bar.

He shifted through the crowd making his way towards the back. The interior was decorated in art deco styled furnishings and wallpaper, giving it a sophisticated 1940s feeling. His eyes landed on the logo written in fancy script across a double door entrance at the back of the establishment. The same one he had recognised immediately on Buer's card. Slightly different to the normal Alliance Bar logo which appeared on the front entrance, this particular one was accompanied with an illustrative _V_. The Alliance Bar VIP lounge, this place had a reputation.

Anyone who was anyone in the underground frequented this place. The front of the bar acted as a legitimate business. While the back, where the elusive VIP lounge was sectioned off was where dodgy business deals were carried out, corrupt politicians accepted bribes, and where the city's underground community relaxed, entertained, plotted and schemed.

The problem with a place like this was that whilst the police knew of it, they couldn't shut it down as it was by all appearances a legitimate business. It was also impossible to get into the VIP section unless you had an exclusive member's card, which Athrun happened to be holding right now.

"Here you go Mr Dino." The security guard at the entrance said as he handed back the card.

Whatever it was that Shiho had done to the chip inside to change it from being Clotho Buer's card to an Alex Dino's, Athrun would have to thank her later for it. He politely accepted the card back and placed it within his breast pocket as he made his way into the VIP lounge.

Upon entering he took a wide sweeping glance making note of every detail that may prove useful later. The VIP lounge was more spacious than the front of the establishment. It was hard to imagine that the tiny bar could conceal such a large space behind it. There was a stage directly in front where a lounge singer was performing with a jazz band. Restrooms were towards the right at the back, and to the left was the VIP bar. The place was dimly lit, yet it exonerated a classy atmosphere instead of a shady one. And the crowd inside was dressed in the finest suits and most elegant cocktail dresses.

Athrun straightened his tie and started making his way towards the bar, ordering a drink to blend in with the crowd. As he took another glance around, with his drink in hand, he recognised some of the figures. There was the mayor's aide sitting down by one of the tables laughing quite casually with the CEO of a construction company. He mentally noted to himself to get Yzak to launch a secret investigation on the mayor's dealings. He also recognised some high-profile gang members his people had been profiling and keeping tabs on.

Athrun took a sip of his scotch and moved into the crowd.

"I'm saying we make the takeover now, before they catch on."

"You'll get half now, the rest after you get the mayor to sign the contract."

"I heard Steve's got a new recipe for that shit he's selling on Fourth Street."

"Did you hear about the murder downtown?"

Athrun paused in his wondering and settled his hearing on the conversation that peaked his interest.

"It was Mary and Terry Buer's boy wasn't it? I read the news in The Orb."

"I never bought their disappearance in South America. You think the same thing happened to them as the Sabnaks?"

"Probably. They were all scientists weren't they? Maybe they couldn't produce any more results and were past their used by date. Or maybe they were going to rat to the police and Logos had them all executed." The man, in his late forties rambled as he took another swig at the brandy in his hands.

His companion hushed at him. "Shhh, we're not supposed to talk about Logos."

"Oh, who the bloody hell cares." His drunken companion challenged, waving his arms around to signal around them, "We're among friends here."

"I think you've had enough to drink." The younger man, and clearly sober one, swiped the glass away from him, however it did not seem to deter the older man one bit.

"Waitress!" He called towards a woman dressed in the standard white blouse, and black miniskirt standing not too far away.

The waitress moved towards the men, passing Athrun who was sitting discreetly at a nearby table. As she walked past, wisps of blonde hair flowed across his vision in its familiarity. Athrun's eyes followed the blonde waitress as she stopped in front of the two gossiping men.

He could literally feel his heart suddenly weigh down in his chest as he gazed at the back of the blonde figure. He could recognise her frame anywhere. The way that her short strands fell just over her shoulders, the familiar lines of her curves, with her posture held high by her pride and determination. Then he felt that familiar burn as frustration surged through him as he comprehended the implications of her being here.

_"What is she doing here?"_ Athrun gritted under his breath.

A street away, and in a parked van, Shinn scratched his head. "What is the captain on about?" He queried as he directed a confusing gaze at his superiors.

Dearka only threw Shinn a knowing smile, while Yzak slapped his forehead as they continued to monitor the audio coming through from the microphone chip implanted under Athrun's tie.

The waitress nodded her understanding as she took the men's orders for more alcohol then headed back towards the bar to pass on the order to the bartender.

Athrun discreetly followed her and sat himself down on a stool behind her.

Cagalli tapped her fingers on the bar counter impatiently, waiting for the glasses to be filled. She desperately wanted to get back to the two men who she had been eavesdropping on. The bartender was taking his time, the place was crawling with people tonight.

"I didn't know you had a night job." A voice commented non-chalantly behind her. The richness of that voice, so familiar to her that it caused her heart to skip. "Especially since you're always so occupied with your day job of making my job a living hell."

Cagalli turned around and almost jumped out of her skin upon seeing Athrun seated just behind her, sipping on a glass of scotch.

"You! Where...how…" She stammered in her shock, then quickly shook her head and recovered. Should she really be surprised to see the police captain here since they were investigating the same case? If anything Athrun's presence here meant that she was on the right track. And since Athrun was here, it really shoudn't be a surprise that he had somehow found her amidst the thick crowd, even disguised in the waitress uniform. He could always identify her, even when she was in her thickest disguises in the past, and it unnerved her that he seemed to know her so well.

Cagalli stared at the man before her. Athrun was dressed impeccably, although he always was whenever she saw him. He blended in quite well with the crowd of men in sharp suits. She noted that he wore black-rimmed glasses, it's spectacles slightly tinted to hide the rich green colour of his eyes.

"Nice disguise." Cagalli mocked. It clearly wasn't much of a disguise, however she noted that under the dim lighting, and with the glasses disguising his most distinguishable features Athrun looked quite unlike the police captain that commanded Heliopolis' police force. In this light, his hair appeared almost black, his eyes a dull kind of grey. Upon first glance he looked liked a wealthy businessman out to enjoy himself at night, or perhaps to broker some shady deals. No doubt that was probably his cover for tonight. Only upon closer inspection would anyone notice the undeniable charisma he possessed and the yearn to uphold justice emanating from his very soul.

"I could say the same to you." He countered back, as he made a gesture towards Cagalli's outfit, glancing her up and down. "I didn't know the uniforms came that tight."

At his words Cagalli's cheeks immediately flushed. It had not occurred to her when Stellar first offered to lend her uniform to help her sneak in that Stellar was actually a size smaller than her. The thin blouse she now wore was way too tight across her chest, that she had to leave the first few buttons undone, and that the already short mini-skirt was even shorter when she put it on.

Ordinarily Cagalli would not be caught dead wearing something like this. However, as she had repeated her motto to Kisaka that morning, a reporter had to do what a reporter had to do. She didn't have much qualms about putting the uniform on and tricking her way into the exclusive club. After all, this place was supposed to be _exclusive_, she was _never_ supposed to be seen by anyone she knew in that outfit.

"Will you stop staring?!" Cagalli gritted through her teeth at Athrun's lingering gaze.

Athrun blinked having been caught and not realising it himself. "I thought that was the whole point of the outfit." He remarked, trying to cover for his own slip up as he allowed a careful grin to grace his lips. "You would serve them alcohol, get them drunk, and have them spill their secrets whilst distracting them with _that_." He deliberately provoked.

Cagalli looked down again at her outfit and at her chest that Athrun had indicated to and a clear fury erupted on her face. "How dare you A-!"

"Alex." Athrun quickly cut in, before Cagalli cursed out his name revealing his identity.

"_Alex._" Cagalli repeated with such venom that it fazed even the police captain. He could only watch in silence at Cagalli as she abruptly turned around and stormed off in anger disappearing into the crowd.

In the back of his eardrums, he could hear a quiet snicker break out.

_"__Not a word Elsman."_ Athrun warned into his microphone.

* * *

><p>Cagalli grinded her teeth as she took to the task of collecting empty glasses from the tables. The two leads she had from earlier had stumbled off in her absence, and now she was stuck actually waiting tables, if she didn't want to blow her cover.<p>

Her cheeks flushed again as she recalled the way his eyes had roamed over her body like it was the first time he ever saw a woman, or at least _her_ as a woman. Then he had to mock her outfit and proceed to suggest she was some temptress. Cagalli could feel the bile rising in her throat again.

_Stupid Zala. _She cursed inwardly as she slammed an empty glass onto the tray she was holding, unceremoniously knocking another glass off onto the floor breaking it.

She cringed at her carelessness, staring at the shattered glass and bent down to pick up the broken pieces. She winced when one of the shards pricked her finger and blood started trickling out. However before she could bring her wounded finger closer for inspection, her hand was being swept away from her.

Cagalli lifted her eyes and saw a blonde gentleman, immaculately dressed in a pristine blue suit staring concernedly at her cut. He held her fingers carefully in his hands as he examined it closely.

"Are you okay miss?" He queried shifting his gaze from the cut to Cagalli's eyes.

"Ah…fine..thanks." Cagalli muttered out uncomfortably as she extracted her hand free from the other's grasp.

"Let me take care of it in my private room." He insisted, a glint appeared in his eyes as his eyeline shifted below Cagalli's neckline. At that moment Cagalli realised that whatever politeness or concern he may have displayed just seconds ago was a thin veil to his true intentions, and she could feel herself stiffen up.

"I can take care of it myself." She abruptly refused. "I have to get back to work." She turned, with all intentions of getting away from the creep when he reached out a hand and grasped her wrist preventing Cagalli from leaving.

"I tip generously." He assured, thinking that was what she was after. "And I'm sure your boss won't mind. After all, I am a patron to his business here, and let's just say I have enough gossip about the owner of this place to sink him to the ground, as well as most of the people here tonight." He persuaded and sensing Cagalli's growing curiosity, he added, "If you come with me, I'll share some of their secrets with you." Then without waiting for an answer, he turned to the right and pulled her along with him.

Cagalli stumbled after him, her heart racing inside her chest. She couldn't help but be compelled by what the man said. And Cagalli knew her heart was beating in exhilaration mixed amongst the trepidation. He could tell her everything she needed to know to solve the case, and much much more. Then she frowned_. For a price_. But before she could contemplate it any further, they had reached the private room he was referring to, and he was already ushering her inside.

Cagalli found herself being placed onto a couch and the man closed the door behind him.

* * *

><p>Athrun leaned back against the bar counter as his eyes glanced over the crowded lounge area once more. He had spotted Cagalli earlier cleaning up a table but lost her again when the crowd shifted obscuring his vision. He had seen the two men he was eavesdropping on earlier leave the bar, and Athrun had already instructed Dearka to tail the two men and find out who they were. With the two leads gone, there wasn't much reason for Athrun to stay, except for the fact that Cagalli Yula was still here. If she was still here, it meant two things. One, he needed to keep an eye on her, and two, she was probably onto something which was why she hadn't left yet. And Athrun had all intents and purposes to find out what clue the reporter had latched onto.<p>

"Say," he turned his attention to the bartender trying to make conversation, "are you familiar with Buer? I was supposed to meet him here tonight for some business but he hasn't showed."

"Buer." The bartender contemplated as he poured a concoction into a container and started shaking it.

"Clotho Buer. Orange hair, blue eyes, hard to miss."

"Oh that kid!" The bartender remarked. "Haven't seen him since 2 weeks ago, when he got into an argument with one of the mob bosses."

Athrun's eyebrows rose up. "Which one?"

The bartender leaned closer and said in a low voice. "The big one." Before his attention was diverted to an approaching customer.

"A blue ocean cocktail." A dark haired man appeared next to the bar and ordered. As he stood there waiting for his drink, Athrun glanced him over, assessing him.

He watched as the man turned back with his order towards a circle of people he was conversing with. Athrun examined the group finding it strange that all men in the circle were holding the exact same drink, a concoction of blue liquid. He shifted his gaze from one person to the next and noted with a heightened regard that each man was wearing an item of blue, be it a tie, a handkerchief, a navy vest, or sky blue dress shirt. A deep frown set into his features as suspicion rooted itself.

Athrun moved from where he was standing, passing the group as he made it look like he was heading for the restrooms. They were murmuring in hushed tones, and he couldn't pick up what they were saying while still maintaining a safe distance, until all six men started chanting in unison. There was no mistaking what they were chanting.

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world."

The men held up their glasses and toasted as Athrun walked past.

A startled gasp traveled through his earpiece. _"No way." _Shinn's voice whispered in shock.

Athrun did not reply Shinn as he kept on walking. But the dread he was feeling inside matched the apprehension heard in Shinn's voice.

_Blue Cosmos._

In that one line murmured by an unsuspecting group of well-dressed men, Athrun's suspicions and fears were confirmed. It was the motto of Blue Cosmos, the international crime syndicate. And it was now confirmed to be in Orb. Athrun masked his features, keeping his face cool and collected, the only indication that he had heard unwanted news was the clenched fists by his side.

* * *

><p>He had poured himself a drink and her as well, as he handed Cagalli a glass. Cagalli eyed it suspiciously and gently placed it back down on the table, weary of what might have been slipped inside.<p>

Christian, as he had told Cagalli his name was, settled on the couch next to her. He took a sip of his own wine unmindful of the fact that Cagalli had not touched hers.

"I don't believe I've seen you around." Christian started the conversation as his eyes skimmed over Cagalli once more, making her feel uncomfortable. "Did you just start working here recently?"

She nodded in response.

"No wonder." He mused. "I was pretty sure I had already showed my private room to all the girls here. It would've been impossible for you to escape my sight." He offered Cagalli a charming smile, and she assumed he had meant her a compliment by that.

Christian lowered his glass back on the table, leaning back into the couch and Cagalli noted also closer towards her. He gazed at her lazily with a lopsided grin.

"I suppose you aren't familiar with the clientele of this place either." He remarked.

"No." Cagalli shook her head. Although she had a good idea of what sort of patrons visited this place, she would love to know the details. "But you promised me that you'll share with me their secrets." She reminded him and forced a smile onto her face to coax him on.

"You're right. I did." Christian admitted, he reached out and took Cagalli's hand in his, gingerly placing a band-aid over her cut finger. "What would you like to know?"

For a second there Cagalli didn't know how to answer. The questions were jumping from her mind from left and right, but the problem was how to ask them without drawing suspicion to herself.

"Which client should I be looking out for?"

"That depends on what you want to look out for." He mused. "There's old man Kanata who used to run the grounds around here before the big boss moved in. He's a strict old man set in his traditions, very hard to please if you ever have to waiter for him. Then there's sly Joe, who will try to scam you at every opportunity. And of course there's yours truly," he smirked, "who loves pretty girls in short skirts and heels."

Not for the first time that night, Cagalli felt uncomfortable in the clothes she wore, and wondered if she should have taken Athrun's comment earlier as a warning than a taunt. Cagalli forced another smile on her face at the unwanted compliment. She focused on her agenda and what had caught her attention.

"Who is the big boss?" She questioned daringly.

"I'll give you a hint." He leaned closer towards her until she could feel his breath on her neck and then whispered into her ears. "_For the preservation of our blue and pure world._"

She froze. Unable to move as she heard that line. For a long second her whole body was paralysed with fear. She knew those words. She had heard it before in the past. But more importantly, she knew who the line belonged to. Which meant this case, the murder, and the situation she was in right now was a lot more serious than she had ever anticipated. In her moment of shock, she failed to notice Christian moving over her until he had forced himself on top of her, pinning her to the couch.

Startled out of her thoughts, Cagalli pushed the man off of her just as Christian pressed his lips to hers, trying to pry her mouth open with his tongue.

Contrary to what many believed, Cagalli was always careful. She may run into danger head-first but she never runs in without knowing what the danger was. She knew what the man wanted and had never intended to give it to him, or for it to get this far. But he had caught her off guard. That one line murmured in her ear had sent her reeling into the deep recesses of her mind. She had not been prepared for this and it was time she got out of here before things became dangerous.

"I should get back to work." She made the excuse as she pushed past Christian, off the couch. His hand on her wrist stopped her escape.

"Your _work_ is to entertain me." He growled in a low voice, his hand gripped on her wrist harder, enough for it to hurt. He could see her eyes widen in panic and felt exhilaration run done his spine at her fear. When he tried to pull Cagalli back down again, Cagalli used her other arm to elbow the arm holding her hostage. She broke free of his hold and ran out of the room before he could stop her.

Cagalli made her way swiftly through the crowd. She needed to get her things and make her way away from here as soon as possible. She doubted that the waitresses here had ever refused a patron, no matter what kind of advances was made on them, nor _could _they. This was the underground scene, you couldn't just refuse. And if they found out who she really was, she would really be in trouble.

She briefly wondered what it was like for Stellar when she had worked here and frowned at the thought. Cagalli reached the cloak room and gathered her coat and bag. She started making her way towards the double door exit when she felt someone grab her arm from behind.

Turning around in panic, she let out a breath of relief when she realised it was only Athrun.

Athrun stared down at the high-strung blonde. He saw fear flash through her eyes momentarily when she thought he was someone else. Athrun frowned, he had rarely seen Cagalli this way, her normally daring and self-assured eyes was for a second frightened and vulnerable. Suspicion started forming in his mind. He had just seen her hastily emerge from a private room, and a few seconds later the same man he had seen cozying it up with one of the waitresses earlier came out after her. It made his stomach twist in knots. The man was looking for Cagalli.

"Are you alright?" Athrun asked, concern laced his voice, but there was a hint of something dangerous in it. He was angry.

"I'm fine." Cagalli replied levelly, having quickly regained her composure. "I have to get out of here." She motioned towards the door again.

Athrun chanced a glance behind him. He could see the man was getting closer to them but hadn't seemed to notice them yet. He suppressed the fury that was rising in him and pushed down the urge to march up to the man and punch him. Instead he turned back towards Cagalli, "Alright, let's go then," he agreed.

"You don't have to come with me." Cagalli insisted as Athrun started escorting her through the crowd. "If you haven't finished, you should stay."

"Actually, I got what I came here for." He replied as he casually picked up a used glass when they walked past a previously occupied table.

Cagalli looked at him curiously.

"Mind hiding this in your bag for me?" Athrun smiled boyishly at her as he tactfully handed the glass to her.

Catching on, Cagalli smiled mischievously in return as she carefully stuffed it inside her handbag. "You realise you owe me a favour now."

"We can discuss the details later." He replied as one arm encompassed her from behind and wrapped around her shoulder. He kept her close to him as they walked through the doors, so that no one would be able to grab her from behind, while using their closeness as a cover. The guards didn't bat an eyelid as they walked past. To them he was just one of the many VIP clients that took one of the girls that worked there home.

When they were safely out of the bar and walked far enough down the street out of sight, he let go of her. Athrun turned towards her and a serious expression was back on his face as he stared at her with concern.

"Did _that man_ do anything to you?"

Cagalli's eyes enlarged in shock. Had Athrun seen her with Christian? _God, she was so stupid_. What did he think of her now? Now that he knew she had walked into a secluded room with a man knowing full well what the man's intentions were.

"Are you hurt Cagalli?" Athrun asked again, his voice softened when he realised he had probably startled her by gritting out _that man_ in barely contained distaste.

Seeing the worried look in Athrun's eyes calmed Cagalli down. She knew Athrun was not here to pass judgment on her. He was worried for her, like he always was. "I'm fine." She assured him.

His eyes seemed to roam her over as if assessing whether she really was fine or not. For all appearances, Cagalli seemed fine, however Athrun couldn't shake off the fear he had seen in her eyes for that brief moment inside. "Tell me what happened."

He heard Cagalli release a deep sigh. She knew that Athrun could be just as stubborn and unrelenting as her sometimes. The police captain was not going to let this go unless she told him.

"He kissed me." Cagalli finally relented and revealed. "But that's all. I got out of there before he could do anything more than an unwanted kiss."

Athrun slammed his palm against his forehead in frustration. "He kissed you?" He hissed out, unable to contain his emotions. "What the hell were you thinking Cagalli?" Athrun yelled out in frustration. "That could have easily escalated into something much more dangerous!"

"Which is why I got out before anything did!" Cagalli countered back.

Athrun took a deep breath and tried to calm his pounding chest. It wasn't in his character to get emotional this easily. Yet everything concerning the blonde haired journalist always drove him to irrationality. Her eyes were back to being defiant and feisty. How she drove him insane sometimes.

Athrun reached up and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. "I just wish you would be more careful." He finally said, his voice calming down to a more collected tone although he knew his heart was still beating in a wild mess.

She smiled to reassure him. "Believe it or not, I always am."

He couldn't help but laugh sarcastically, he would believe it the day he saw it.

"Besides, I got some useful information off of him." Cagalli continued then paused as she tried to assess Athrun's reaction to her following words. "Blue Cosmos is in Orb. But then judging from your lack of surprise, I'm guessing you found that out tonight too."

Athrun neither confirmed nor denied it.

Cagalli reached into her bag and took out the glass they had smuggled out. She arched an eyebrow at him. "Don't forget you owe me a favour."

"Do you need a lift home?" He suggested.

"I can get a cab."

"I can get Yzak to withdraw that complaint against you."

"And I told you to try again."

"Fine." Athrun conceded. "Once I find out, I'll let you know who those fingerprints belong to."

Cagalli grinned like a chesire cat as she finally handed the glass to Athrun.

"Do you need a lift home?" Athrun offered again, more genuinely this time.

Cagalli thought about it but declined. She didn't want to give Mana the wrong impression if Athrun dropped her off again, two nights in a row, and _especially _given what she was wearing tonight.

Athrun's brows furrowed. He didn't like the thought of her going home alone, but he knew that he still had work to do. Shinn and Yzak were waiting for him in the van, and he needed to debrief them.

Cagalli offered him a sneaky smile as she left. "Good night _Alex._"

"Good night Cagalli." Athrun bid almost reluctantly. He watched as Cagalli crossed the road and headed towards the direction of the taxi bay.

_"__Captain…captain? Is everything alright?"_ Athrun cringed at the annoying voice in his head. He had turned the microphone off when he started his conversation with Cagalli. But did not turn the speakers against his ears off. Shinn's voice had been annoyingly ringing against his eardrums this whole time as the young detective fretted over why there was suddenly no transmission coming through from Athrun's end.

"Fine Asuka." Athrun finally replied as he turned his microphone back on. "I'm heading back now."

* * *

><p>Christian turned around to see a middle-aged brown haired man approach him at the bar. He tipped his glass to the man as a sign of acknowledgment.<p>

"The girl you were with earlier." The man started as he stopped in front of him, looking grim.

"Which one?" Christian remarked back smugly. "I've been with several tonight." He boasted.

"The blonde one. What did you tell her?"

Christian frowned, he did not like her getting away from him. He shrugged. "Not much."

The man didn't seem pleased either way with his response. "Doesn't matter." He muttered to himself. "She'll have to go."

"Why?" Christian asked curiously. "Most of the girls here already know all the gossip from this place."

The older man's expression turned dark, his eyes narrowing into thin malicious lines as he glared at Christian. "Because she doesn't work here. She's that damn bloody reporter that works for The Orb!"

"Oh." Christian let out. "I thought she looked familiar." He mused as he continued sipping from his drink.

The older man ignored Christian and turned around to one of his lackeys. "Get rid of her." He ordered.

"If she really is that reporter from The Orb, then you know who she is." Christian spoke up behind him. "You know the big boss has plans for her. He won't be happy if you killed her just yet." He reminded. "Wouldn't want you to get in trouble now would we Will?"

The other man didn't seem too happy at his words, nor at the casual way he was addressed. He grinded his teeth as he amended his order.

"Give her a good scare."

* * *

><p>Cagalli made her way towards the taxi stands. It was a Friday night, so she wasn't surprised to see all the cabs were already taken. She resigned to waiting for the next one to pull up. Meanwhile her feet were killing her. She wasn't used to wearing heels but unfortunately they were part of the waitress uniform, along with the skimpy skirt and almost see-through blouse. Cagalli bent down and was about to give her ankles a rub when she noticed a group of men approach her direction. She frowned, wondering what they were after.<p>

They stopped when they reached her and circled around her like predators. Her heart started pumping inside her chest, assessing the four men around her.

"What do you want?" She asked as she eyed all four men, not backing down.

They didn't reply her. Instead one lunged at her and Cagalli ducked from his grasp, only to fall into another's. She dropped her handbag and elbowed the man who had grabbed her from behind, knocking him in the chin. He heard the man groan in pain as he released her.

Cagalli backed away from her attackers and shifted into a stance. It's been a while since she was involved in a scuffle. And whilst she was quite confident in her abilities, she was well aware that she was outnumbered this time.

Her heart started beating faster as she anticipated what their next move was. One of the men dove for her and she landed a well placed kick to his side. She smiled in triumph realising that she wasn't as rusty as she thought she was. Then shifted to the offensive and took a swing at the man standing to her right. The man dodged her attack but Cagalli anticipated his move and was able to land a knee to his groins.

"Bitch!" He cried as he fell to the ground in pain.

_One down, only three more to go_, Cagalli thought to herself then inwardly cringed, the odds were still not in her favour. And judging by the rage on the others' faces, she supposed they were not going to go easy on her, or misjudge her as a helpless little girl.

Perhaps it was time to change tactics. Cagalli ducked and swiftly grabbed the bag she had dropped and took off running. She didn't need to run very far she deducted, all she had to do was get to a place where there was more people, where someone will be able to help her. She prayed that Athrun was still nearby.

Unfortunately she didn't get very far as she tripped on her feet.

"Dammit!" She cursed out loud. This was why she didn't wear heels, they were near damn impossible to run in. She tried to push herself back up only to be crippled by a sharp pain running up her ankle. She had injured it when she fell.

Her eyes darted back to the men following her, now coming closer and closer towards her. She felt her heart pick up its beat faster and faster as panic washed over her._ Who were they? What did they want with her?_

As one of the men, the largest of the four stepped forward, she could feel his shadow cast from the street lamp above loom over her entirety. She clamped her eyes shut as she saw him raising a hand towards her, expecting a blow.

It never came.

When she opened her eyes again, a figure stood in front of her shielding her from her attacker. She watched as the figure moved, so swift in his motion that she almost missed him throw a well-aimed punch to the other man's under-jaw. Then another punch to the head and a kick to the stomach. In a matter of seconds he had disabled a man twice his size. She stared in amazement as the big guy fell to the ground unconscious. It was then she realised that the other men in the group were already lying on the ground in a similar manner.

Her rescuer stood a few metres away, half concealed in the darkness and Cagalli wasn't sure if she should be thanking him, or fleeing herself. All she knew was that her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. Then he took a step towards her and into the light.

She was met with a set of striking amethyst eyes. "You…you're the barista." She stammered. Then blushed in embarrassment for not remembering his name.

"Kira." He offered, not at all offended that she had forgotten. He gave her a warm kind smile as he kneeled in front of her. "Are you alright Miss Yula?" He asked concernedly.

"You can call me Cagalli." She insisted. She grabbed onto the hand Kira offered her as he helped her off the ground. Cagalli winced as she finally stood up, her left ankle ached and a sharp pain shot up her leg when she tried to place her weight on it. She instinctively grabbed onto Kira's arm for support.

Kira's eyes enlarged in worry seeing her almost stumble. "You're hurt." He stated.

"It's only a sprain." Cagalli assured. "Thank you." She offered genuinely as she stared down at the unconscious men around them. "How did you do that?" She asked curiously. She had never in her life seen anyone move so fast or efficiently.

Kira shrugged sheepishly. "I've had a few lessons in self-defense." He said as if it was no big deal. "You were pretty good too."

"My father was adamant that I learn to protect myself at a young age."

"He did a good job." He said as he placed an arm across Cagalli's shoulder to better support her. "I'll help you home." He suggested.

She opened her mouth to decline but felt her legs give way in that second. If it weren't for Kira catching her, steadying her, she would have fallen to the ground. Cagalli had to concede to herself that in her current circumstance, there was no way she could make it home by herself.

Kira offered her a gentle smile and asked, "Where do you live?" He had said it so naturally, and familiarly in his manner that she didn't hesitate to answer.

* * *

><p>"What happened?" The man asked as he saw his lackeys return battered and bruised.<p>

They kept silent for a while as if wallowing in their own shame before one of them finally spoke up. "We got to her, but someone stood in our way."

Their boss raised an eyebrow at them.

"Kira Yamato helped her out." Another spoke up.

The older man leaned back into his chair contemplating what he had just heard.

"Interesting." He finally muttered.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny or its characters and names. This is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.

A/N: Thanks again for all your support!

* * *

><p><strong>All's Fair in Love, War and Journalism<strong>

**4**

"What's the situation?" He asked as Yzak led him around the broken glass and into the battered pawn shop inside.

"A pissed off customer." He replied. "Elsman's already detained the suspect and taken him back to HQ for questioning."

Athrun took a glimpse around the damaged shop. It looked like it took quite a beating from the baseball bat that was alleged to be the weapon of assault.

"And how's the owner?"

"Copped a nasty blow to the back of the head. In hospital for emergency surgery."

"Connections to the underground?"

"Yes." Yzak handed over the tablet he was holding to Athrun. "The owner often trades in stolen goods from the Kanata gang."

Athrun took a glance through the information displayed on the screen. "Any links to the Buer case?"

Yzak shook his head. "They seem to be completely unrelated."

He nodded in acknowledgement and handed the tablet back to Yzak. He was walking back outside to assess the damage from the shop front when a grating voice scraped across his eardrums.

"Yo! Zala!"

Athrun craned his neck around in displeasure and narrowed his eyes as his sight landed on the biggest eyesore he's ever had the misfortune of seeing.

"Over here!" Yuna Roma Seiran shouted as he waved boisterously to garner the police captain's attention.

"What is that _moron_ doing here?!" Yzak gritted next to Athrun as he spotted the floundering purple-haired reporter. Immediate irritation flashed across the silver-haired lieutenant.

"Ah Joule! You too! Care to comment on what happened here?" Yuna shouted ecstatically from twenty metres away behind the police tape.

Athrun noticed that two of his officers were standing very closely to Yuna to hold him back. Cagalli may be annoying and utterly persistent during an investigation but at least she kept out of the police's way when necessary. She knew her boundaries and never interfered with the evidence. Athrun couldn't count the number of times his men had to stop Yuna from almost contaminating a crime scene as he would burst in without any regard. Seiran walked around like he owned the city. The worst part of it was that his father did own half the city, and whenever Athrun tried to stick a charge on the Seiran boy, his father would always bail him out.

"What exactly have the police been doing to stop this violence from happening?" Yuna continued ranting from his position. When neither Athrun nor Yzak bothered to respond to him, he added, "Can I take your silence as an indication of your failures to protect this city?"

The blue-haired captain watched with mild amusement as a hand slammed against Yzak's forehead, the lieutenant dragging it slowly down the length of his face.

"Where the hell is Yula?!" Yzak demanded, the burning anger in his features growing with each second that Seiran's voice continued to resonate in the background. "I can't believe I'm saying this," his lieutenant gritted out slowly much to his own shame, "but I'd much rather deal with her than that numbskull fool."

Athrun frowned. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Cagalli for days, not since they had parted at the Alliance Bar. It was unusual to not have seen a wisp of her during an investigation. Usually Cagalli would be one of the first people on the scene when news broke in the city. Her nose for journalism could usually pick up the scent of news breaking before the police even knew sometimes.

It had also been strange that she did not check up with him on the progress of the forensic analysis on the glass she had helped him steal. He had expected her to barge into his office the very next day and demand he held up his end of the bargain. But she never showed. His frown only deepened, the fact that Yuna Roma Seiran was here instead of Cagalli made matters worse. Ledonir Kisaka had to have had a reason for assigning this story to Yuna instead of Cagalli.

_Where was she?_

* * *

><p>"We're closed!" A familiar voice shouted out from the back.<p>

"Then finally lock your doors!"

"Cagalli?" Sting peeked his head through the back door and saw the blonde haired reporter sit herself onto a stool. A frown etched onto his face. "I knew it was a bad idea." He remarked immediately upon noticing the limp in the way she walked.

"I'm fine." Cagalli insisted, she peered around over his shoulders. "Auel and Stellar not here?"

"They went to restock for tonight." He explained then eyed her injured ankle. "I hope you at least got something out of it?"

Cagalli tilted her head to one side and a lopsided grin appeared on her face. She leaned closer to Sting, her eyes bold and determined. "Actually I did. That international syndicate you were talking about? I know who they are now. Blue Cosmos." She revealed, then seeing no change in Sting's expression, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You knew." She accused then burst into a fit of rage. "Why didn't you tell me?! It would have saved me a lot of trouble if I had known it was Blue Cosmos I was looking for! I would have at least been prepared!"

"And what? Feed the fire while it's burning?!" Sting shouted back. "If I had told you it was Blue Cosmos you would have been more determined to chase them down!"

"So what? You were hoping that maybe I would miss a clue here and there and never find out?!"

"You're right, clearly I was too optimistic." Sting conceded as he waved a hand in the air in frustration. "Cleary I was an idiot for not wanting my friend getting herself into trouble with a highly dangerous, and extremely powerful criminal organisation. Have you forgotten what Blue Cosmos did to that kid, whose murder you're investigating? They gunned him down! Outside his own residence!" He slammed his hands down on the counter.

"That won't happen to me!" Cagalli bit back assuredly.

Sting laughed under his breath, unable to believe Cagalli's naivety. "Why? Because you're friends with the police captain? You think he can protect you? You think _they_ care? They've been dealing right under the cops' noses without the cops ever gaining a clue!"

"_Because_ I'm going to put them away for life." Cagalli gritted under her breath, her fists were clenched and the sheer determination and will in her expression silenced Sting's rant.

He eventually sighed, shaking his head. "Sometimes I wonder why you chose to use words as your weapon."

"So I don't have to resort to violence to bring down an enemy."

"Wise words from your father?"

Her temper died down then and she became sombre as she nodded her head. "He was always good with words."

He offered her a smile, taking out a shot glass and pouring vodka into it. Offering it to Cagalli he asked, "So what did you come here for today?"

Cagalli took the alcohol and gulped it down in one shot, "Is there anything you can tell me about Blue Cosmos?"

"Nothing you don't know already. They trade in technology and science, and use the profits from selling drugs to fund their research. The big boss is supposedly a man who calls himself Lord Djibril. Although no one knows his real name. And they were in control of the Atlantic Federation parliament for a long time before they were finally driven out by the new head of the military there."

She did know all of these already. As secretive an organisation as Blue Cosmos was, their sheer number, power and influence over the international underground meant that gossip got out. When they were finally flushed out of the Atlantic Federation, it was all the news media outlets could report at the time. Yet it seemed they had relocated themselves after they were forced out of their previous headquarters, and this time they were determined to remain hidden.

"How long have they been in Orb for?" Cagalli queried.

"Five years maybe?" Sting offered.

"No." Cagalli instinctively answered. "They've been here for much longer."

Sting raised an eyebrow at her but did not question how Cagalli came to such a conclusion.

"Anything else you could tell me?"

Sting shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "I told you I've been out of the scene for a while. You know as much as I do."

"Alright then." She conceded. "Although there is something else. When I was at the Alliance Bar, I overhead some men talking about the executions of the Buer family, they mentioned the name Logos. Does that ring a bell?"

Cagalli watched with curiosity as Sting's eyebrows furrowed in deep thought.

"Maybe." He finally replied. "Let me look into it." When he saw the warning behind her eyes, he added, "I promise I won't keep anything from you. Anything else princess?"

"Yes, one, don't call me that." She threatened in repulse for the nickname. "Two, it's something personal, so feel free not to answer but…" She trailed off for a second, hesitating as she thought back to her experience at the Alliance Bar. Then she lifted her head, looking Sting directly in the eyes. "How did Stellar ever cope with working in that environment?"

Sting looked into Cagalli's eyes, seeing the concern and sincerity in them and answered the truth. "She did what she had to do to get by."

* * *

><p>Athrun watched as the forensics team packed up. There was not much left for him to do here. Yzak was heading the investigation on this case while he personally looked into the Clotho Buer murder. His eyes caught a glimpse of Yuna in the background who was openly insulting one of his uniformed officers. Athrun did not envy Yzak, as it meant that Yzak was going to have to put up with more of Seiran, who was reporting on this case. He briefly wondered how long Seiran was going to last before Yzak exploded on him or if Seiran would drive Yzak insane first.<p>

"I can't take any more of this!" The silver-haired officer gritted, fist clenched tightly as his face scrunched up in barely controlled aggravation. "How does Yula put up with that _idiot_ everyday?!"

"There's a reason why she's always out of the office." Athrun replied patting Yzak on the back. He made a motion to head back to his car when he realised that he would need to get past Yuna and groaned.

"Still have nothing to say?" Yuna burst out as Athrun reluctantly approached closer towards him. "Too afraid of what Yuna Roma Seiran might expose?" He boasted before a sly expression overcame his features. "Or would you be more friendly and talkative if I was _someone_ else, blonde and female perhaps?" He insinuated.

Athrun knew what the purple-haired man was getting at and ignored him as he lifted the police tape over his head and walked past. Seiran seemed to hold an unknown grudge against him and had been trying to smear his image for a long time. If he were to take a guess, it was because the other man fancied Cagalli, and saw him as a rival of some sort. Although that was ridiculous since there was nothing between him and Cagalli, and he was certain there was never going to be anything between Cagalli and Yuna, if the feisty blonde could help it.

"Can you tell me if this attack was fuelled by a love triangle?" Yuna asked out of the blue as he followed after Athrun towards his car.

Athrun stopped abruptly. Was Yuna deliberately trying to provoke him? There were no indications at all that this was a crime of passion. Where the hell did he even draw that conclusion from? Then he remembered, Seiran was always out for sensationalist news. He was after a headline not the truth.

"No comment." Athrun finally answered. He knew how much Yuna liked to stretch the facts in his articles, and he wasn't prepared to give away anything for Yuna to exploit.

Athrun reached his car and slammed the door shut as he got in. As he drove away, he could see Yuna being escorted away by Shinn probably on Yzak's orders.

* * *

><p>He closed his car door and looked up at the four-storey apartment building in front of him. Cagalli lived on the second floor. He took a deep breath and shook away the debate going on in his head of why he was actually here as he made his way up the stairs to her apartment.<p>

He knew why he was here. He hadn't seen Cagalli since they parted outside the Alliance Bar, and seeing Seiran today instead of the usual energetic blonde reporter told him something was wrong. His mind flashed to what had happened in the bar, concern and anger immediately surged through his body. He couldn't help but wonder if something had happened to Cagalli since he last saw her. Why had he ever agreed for her to go home alone that night?

Athrun took a deep breath and calmed himself down. She was probably fine, he told himself as he climbed up to the second floor. Cagalli could take care of herself. But he needed to be sure.

As he reached the top of the stairs, he stalked down the hallway towards where he knew Cagalli's apartment was at the end of the corridor. A crease formed on his forehead as he noticed a paper bag sitting outside her apartment. Bending down and picking it up, he noticed it was a bag of groceries. Athrun stared at it confusedly as he knocked on Cagalli's door.

There was no response. He sighed as he conceded that Cagalli wasn't home. Then examined the bag of groceries in his hand more closely, noticing a note attached to it.

Detaching it from the paper bag, Athrun held it up closer to read.

_Cagalli,_

_I wasn't sure if you had a chance to go grocery shopping considering your ankle. So I took the liberty to bring you some food. But I guess you're not home, which means you made it outside after all. I hope you recover fully. Please come visit the café for a coffee some time._

_Kira_

Athrun stared down at the piece of paper completely befuddled. Two things stood out to him. Cagalli was injured. _And…_

"Who is Kira?" He asked himself.

* * *

><p>Cagalli winced when her ankle started throbbing as she made her way slowly up the stairs. Her last conversation with Sting still haunted her mind. It hurt her to know what Stellar had to struggle through just to survive. She had known that the younger girl had a dark past, Sting and Auel all did, but it still surprised her. And it only made her more determined on the course she had taken. She was going to bring down the underground with the power of the press.<p>

She continued to limp towards her apartment when something caused her to stop in her step. There, a few metres in front of her was Heliopolis' esteemed police captain. Athrun had his eyes closed as he leaned against the wall next to her door. His blue hair falling in strands over his handsome face. It looked like he was resting and Cagalli wondered how long Athrun had been there waiting for her.

His eyes slowly opened when he detected her presence. Emerald green eyes landed on hers and stayed there for a while before Athrun pushed himself off the wall.

Cagalli closed the distance between them. "What are you doing here?" She asked perplexed but not unhappy by his presence.

"Checking up on you." He answered not bothering to hide the reason. "When Yuna Roma Seiran shows up at an investigation instead of you, I have reason to suspect that something happened to you."

"Kisaka gave me a mandatory week off work." The resentment in her voice told Athrun that she was none too happy about it, knowing that the only way to have Cagalli take leave was to literally force her to take it.

"Because you injured your ankle?"

Her head snapped up. "How do you know I injured my ankle?"

"That limp of yours is a clear teller. And this." He handed her a note and then indicated to a bag of groceries on the floor.

Cagalli read through the note written in messy but legible handwriting.

"Kira?" She mouthed out in surprise as she stared at the bag of groceries. Kira had indeed been very kind to her when he helped her home that night. He had even helped her tape her ankle before he left. She already owed him her gratitude. However she did not expect him to drop off groceries for her, or to even still care at all.

"And who is Kira?" The police captain questioned in suspicion.

"He's…a barista from the coffee shop I visit."

"A barista?" Athrun questioned in confusion. What was a barista doing getting Cagalli's groceries for her? How did he even know where she lived?

Cagalli shrugged and then hurriedly moved to unlock her door when she spotted Mana approaching from down the hall. Given the last conversation she had with the older woman, Cagalli was none too keen to be spotted with Athrun. However the seven locks she had on her door for security proved time consuming to open.

Mana approached the two young persons as she made her way to her own apartment across from Cagalli's. She gave Cagalli a knowing smile as she passed and raised an eyebrow in Athrun's direction.

"My, what a good looking suitor you have Cagalli." Mana remarked teasingly. Athrun's eyes enlarged while Cagalli turned positively red.

"He's just a friend." She quickly refuted. Mana only winked at them before she disappeared into her apartment.

Cagalli could feel her cheeks burning as she finally unlocked her own locks. She pushed open her door and hurried inside wanting to hide from her embarrassment. Athrun followed her in carrying the bag of groceries with him.

Cagalli made a beeline for the couch and plumped herself down, finally able to rest her aching foot, before burying her head in her hands. When she finally calmed down from her flustered state she peeked through her fingers and saw Athrun in her kitchen, unpacking the contents of the bag and putting the food away for her.

She watched as Athrun took out two punnets of strawberries, hot chilli sauce, some curry puff pastries, a handful of fresh jalapeno peppers, pasta, spiced salami and her favourite brand of chocolate among other things. She noted with curiosity that Kira had somehow bought all the things she liked to eat.

"You still haven't told me how you hurt yourself." Athrun stated from the kitchen as he was putting a loaf of bread away into the pantry.

He looked so casual and at home as he packed away the food for her, however Cagalli could note the slight tenseness in his shoulders and the forcefulness in his voice.

"I tripped."

"You tripped?" Athrun stopped what he was doing and questioned sceptically, knowing there was more to the story. He stood behind the counter and folded his arms, silently demanding her to tell him the whole truth.

Cagalli rolled her eyes. "I tripped while running away from some thugs."

"What?!" Athrun suddenly exploded. "When did this happen?"

"After you left the other night."

She heard him take a deep breath as he left the kitchen counter and approached the living room where she was. "Cagalli. Why didn't you tell me?" He asked in all seriousness and concern. "Did you even report this to the police?"

"There was no point, they were pretty beat up by Kira." She replied.

His expression darkened at the mention of Kira's name. "Explain to me again how you know Kira?"

"I told you already, he served me coffee! Look I was in trouble and Kira just happened to be there and he helped me out." She explained, not quite sure where the animosity Athrun was displaying was coming from.

"He just happened to be there." Athrun repeated, his voice low. "Do you know how suspicious that sounds? You of all people should know better! Especially since we just came out of the Alliance Bar where the city's underground operates! How do you know he wasn't one of them?"

"Why would he help me then?"

"To gain your trust? To figure out how much you've learned before he takes you out?"

"I think you're overacting."

"I don't think I am. How does he know where you live?" Athrun demanded.

Knowing Athrun was not going to like her answer, Cagalli looked away guiltily. "He helped me home."

"Cagalli you don't even know this guy, and you let him take you home?" Athrun wasn't quite sure what to think right now. He knew Cagalli was reckless but he had always trusted her judgement. He didn't know how she could have gotten it so wrong this time. Kira could have been anyone, he could bloody well be the mafia himself, and she let him in her front door.

"I wasn't exactly in a position to make my own way home with a sprained ankle. And I'm fine now aren't I?" Cagalli defended herself. She knew what Athrun was saying was right, and under normal circumstances she would not have let anyone she didn't trust completely into her apartment, yet there was something about Kira. She didn't know what, maybe it was the way his eyes had looked at her with genuine concern, or the familiarity she felt around him that made her trust him, despite Kira being a mere stranger.

Athrun who had been standing, bent down in front of her. He was eye level with her now and she could see the lines of worry etched into his otherwise flawless face.

"You should've called me. I would have taken you home." He spoke softly, steadily looking into her eyes.

Cagalli offered him a faint smile. "I didn't want to owe you any more favours."

"It's not a favour Cagalli, it's my job to protect the citizens of this city, and to protect the ones I care about."

He had said it without a hint of hesitation. She could feel a blush creeping into her cheeks. Although she knew they had a unique kind of friendship, one bordering on can't-stand-each-other territories, he had never expressed his concern for her in such words and neither had she.

Athrun got up casually and went back to putting away the groceries in her kitchen. When he finished, he turned back to her. A grin graced his features as he noticed there was still a hint of red in her cheeks.

"I also came to give you this." Athrun said as he walked closer towards her and tossed her a USB stick.

Cagalli caught it in her hands, slightly perplexed. "What is it?" She asked.

He arched his eyebrow in disbelief. "Don't tell me you forgot? I don't want you to be accusing me of not honouring my end of the deal."

Her eyes suddenly enlarged in recognition. It wasn't that she had forgotten, in fact she had wanted to ask Athrun about it when she first spotted Athrun outside her apartment, before their conversation got derailed into an argument about her personal safety and the subsequent proclamation by Athrun that he genuinely cared about her.

She smiled as she gripped onto the USB tighter. "Thanks."

Athrun nodded and smiled back at her, admiring the glint of excitement in her eyes that she always held whenever she latched onto another clue. He could have stood there longer, silently watching her without her realising, when his phone vibrated in his blazer jacket.

"Zala." Athrun picked up the phone.

"Boss." Dearka's voice came on the line. "That info you requested finally came in."

"Thanks Elsman. I'll be back at HQ shortly." Athrun promptly replied and hung up. "I have to get back to work." He told Cagalli before pausing to look her in the eyes, "Promise me you'll call me if you ever get into trouble okay?" He said softly.

Cagalli nodded in response and watched as he moved towards the door. He paused just before stepping out, turning back to Cagalli with a small smile on his face. "Don't ever leave me with Yuna Seiran again." He joked, half seriously.

"Ha!" Cagalli laughed out. "Is that the real reason you came to see me?" She teased with a smirk on her face.

Athrun returned her smirk before closing the door behind him. After he left, Cagalli slumped further into the couch thinking over the exchange they had just had. Had she truly been foolish by letting Kira into her apartment? She knew the answer was yes, yet her instincts had told her she had nothing to fear. Did Athrun really care about her? Her heart thumped loudly at that thought, and she knew the answer was yes as well.

* * *

><p>Athrun's expression remained stern as he read through the report handed to him. Interpol had taken its time granting them access to the files on Blue Cosmos and even so, a lot of sensitive information were blacked out.<p>

"As you can see, Blue Cosmos deals in science and technology. In particular, they specialise in the weapons and drugs trade on the black market. The Atlantic Federation believed that the syndicate was funded by five public companies. However they were never able to discern which five companies were involved." Dearka reported, then handed Athrun a photo. "Lord Djibril is the known leader of Blue Cosmos. His true identity still remains a mystery but Interpol believes that this man, captured on CCTV at the Atlantic airport five years ago may be the man himself."

Athrun lowered his gaze at the man in the photo. He carried a cruel smirk on a harsh face. Athrun couldn't tell how old the man in the photo was, he didn't look particularly old, but his grey hair and stern features seemed to age him.

"He was never apprehended by the Atlantic military, and likely escaped the Federation the same day this footage was taken." Dearka continued. "His second-in-command however, Muruta Azrael was said to have been killed when Blue Cosmos was raided in the purge by the military five years ago."

"Funded by five companies." Athrun contemplated to himself after Dearka finished his summary. "Have you found anything on Logos?"

"Sorry boss. Every time I try to do a search for Logos…well…I just come up with results of logos of companies."

"Hmm…" Athrun let out as his brain caught trail of a thought.

"What are you thinking boss?" Dearka asked.

"It's possible Logos is a code word," Athrun speculated, "that refers to the companies behind Blue Cosmos." He eyed his sergeant to see Dearka reflecting on his words and nodding in agreement with his line of thinking.

They would need to figure out who these companies were if they wanted to stop Blue Cosmos. Athrun had no doubts that the reason the Atlantic Federation failed to eliminate Blue Cosmos entirely was because they were unable to cut the organisation off at its head. As long as Blue Cosmos had money backing it, it would never die.

After skimming through the rest of the files, he put the report back down and eyed Dearka.

"How's Lieutenant Joule's investigation going into the shop assault from this morning?" He asked.

"Practically over." Dearka answered then snickered. "The poor guy nearly pissed in his pants after Yzak walked out of the interrogation room. We'll be handing the case over to the DA's office shortly."

Athrun nodded. "Good, then he'll be free to look into a few things for me."

"What about me?" Dearka asked, wondering if his captain was unsatisfied with his work and was handing it over to Yzak instead. It wasn't his fault that Interpol took so long to get back them.

"I've got another assignment for you." Athrun told Dearka. His expression turned grim as his lips pursed in concern. "I want you to tail Cagalli Yula." He finally said, his mind flashing back to the conversation they had in her apartment. The assault on her after the Alliance Bar and the coincidental appearance of her 'saviour' didn't sit well with Athrun. "I want to know everything that she knows about this case." He ordered, then added, "And keep her out of trouble."

Dearka's initially confused expression turned into a sly one as he grinned mischievously at his superior. "Captain, if you wanted me to keep an eye out for your girlfriend, you could have just said so."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny or its characters and names. This is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.

* * *

><p><strong>All's Fair in Love, War and Journalism<strong>

**5**

Dearka watched from across the street as the blonde haired journalist entered a café and was greeted warmly by the waiter.

_"__Keep a close eye out for any coffee joints she visits, I want to know who she talks to in there."_ His captain had explicitly instructed him before kicking him out of his office with a stern warning to watch his mouth before he speaks.

Dearka internally winced at the memory, yet he just couldn't help himself. Athrun for all his cool-headed and calm demeanor was so easy to tease when it concerned the blonde reporter he was now stalking on Athrun's orders.

Dearka sighed as he grabbed his long lens camera and zeroed in on the woman of his captain's although-never-admitted affections.

* * *

><p>Cagalli took a seat by the window and urged Kira to join her. "I'd really like to thank you for helping me the other day." She started once Kira had seated himself.<p>

The purple-eyed boy shook his head humbly as if to say it was nothing. "I'm just glad you're feeling better now."

She smiled at him, and Kira noted with great pleasure that when Cagalli truly smiled, her entire face lit up. "It was only a minor sprain." She told him. "It could have been worse if you weren't there that night. Come to think of it, what were you doing out that night anyways?"

Kira kept his expression serene as he answered her. He knew she was sincere in her gratitude, but he hadn't forgotten who she was. She was a journalist, one of the best, and her job was to ask questions, to be suspicious, to dig deeper than what was necessary. She was fishing for information here. To either fuel or squash her suspicions of him. Part of him had wondered why she had so easily agreed to let him help her that night. Yet part of him already knew the answer why. She felt as if she knew him. But she didn't know him at all. And he almost wished she wouldn't be so trusting.

"I was out celebrating a friend's birthday and ended up staying out pretty late. I was heading to the taxi stands to wait for a taxi when I spotted you in trouble."

Cagalli slowly nodded her head, processing the information in her mind. There was no reason to doubt Kira's words, he just happened to be at the right place at the right time to help her out. There was also no reason to trust his words either. It didn't pass Cagalli's mind that it had been too much of a coincidence that the same day she met him in the café, he would be there to rescue her that night. But he had helped her, hadn't he? She allowed him into her home and not only did he not harm her but he had helped tape her ankle. He had also bought her groceries. Wasn't that enough reason to trust him?

"Thank you." Cagalli said again, her expression softening as she decided to expel the doubts from her mind. Her instincts told her that Kira was not there to harm her that night. And her instincts seldom failed her.

"You're welcome Cagalli." Came Kira's warm reply.

"Oh! Before I forget." She exclaimed and started rummaging through her bag for her purse. "How much do I owe you for the groceries?"

Kira waved his hand in front of him to say no, when Cagalli suddenly shoved a handful of notes under his nose. "Ah…it really wasn't much. You don't have to pay me back." He insisted.

"I can't have that. I really hate being in someone's debt." Cagalli stated as she tried to push the money back in Kira's face.

Kira refused again. "Then how about…you can pay me back in tips." He suggested.

He watched as Cagalli contemplated it for a second. "Alright then." She agreed. "I guess that means I'll be coming here more often."

He smiled. "I was hoping you would. So a cappuccino then?" He asked as he got up and resumed his duties.

Cagalli beamed at him and nodded her head. "That would be fantastic. Thanks."

* * *

><p>He watched as Cagalli left the shop and turned back to the table, eyes enlarging at the generous tip Cagalli left him. He shook his head smiling amusedly at the blonde when he heard the bell chime.<p>

"Welcome!" He greeted as a new customer walked in.

A tall blond man with suntanned skin and a laid back attitude stood waiting at the counter.

"What can I get you?" Kira asked as he rushed back to the front of the shop.

"Hit me with a shot of espresso." He ordered then leaned slightly closer as his eyes landed on the barista's nametag. "Thanks Kira." Dearka said with a charismatic smile.

* * *

><p>Cagalli made her way back into the office after her week of exile and dumped her bag next to her desk. She typed the password into her computer and logged in.<p>

"Good to have you back with us Cagalli." A voice called out to her.

She looked up and found Miriallia leaning over her cubicle, her head peeking out from the other side.

"Not that we see much of you anyways." Miriallia added.

At this Cagalli grinned. "I figured I'd clock in some office hours while Yuna's out." She explained.

"Where is that blockhead anyways?"

"From what I gather, he's off annoying Lieutenant Joule." Cagalli snickered, not at all sympathetic towards the lieutenant. She was still sour over the complaint he had filed against her.

"And your ankle?"

"Barely noticeable, and good enough for Kisaka to let me back at work. Although the doctor did say I shouldn't be doing any extraneous activities."

Miriallia let out an understanding noise. "So that explains the real reason you're in the office today and not running around chasing leads." She grinned before turning back to her own desk.

Cagalli shifted her vision back onto her computer and inserted the USB drive Athrun had supplied her. She had already read over it several times when Athrun first handed it to her a few days ago, although it felt like she was missing something.

Her eyes glimpsed over the files again. The fingerprints found on the glass belonged to a Rick Amster. Although Athrun did not tell her what had led him to take that particular glass from the bar, she knew that it was related to Blue Cosmos.

As Cagalli stared hard at the profile of Rick Amster, she wondered how this person was connected to the underground. Although he was no saint, judging from the assault charges filed by his ex, nothing in his profile stood out as having any connections to organised crime. He was a highly paid accountant for a tech company, the Girty Lue. What could he be hiding?

She was knocked out of her thoughts when Miriallia suddenly popped her head over again.

"Oh, before I forget, you had some mail delivered while you were on your forced leave." The brunette said as she handed Cagalli a pile of letters.

Cagalli flipped through her letters one by one. They were mostly bills for her expenditures on the job, which she would need to fax through to HR to claim. She groaned when she saw a letter from Occupational Health and Safety with a notice for her to attend a personal safety training session. She quickly scrunched that up and dismissed it in the bin.

Cagalli came upon the final letter in the bunch and glared at it perturbed. There was no return address on the envelope. She flipped the envelope open, feeling dread piling up in the pits of her stomach as she took out the piece of paper within.

A message was typed in capitals in the centre of the page.

_STAY AWAY IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU. _

_YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED._

Her eyes narrowed at the message. As an investigative journalist she was privy to these kinds of letters, having received them many times in the past. There was always some corrupt politician, businessman, or smart alec who thought they could deter her from writing a story by sending her anonymous threats. The threats never turned to fruition though, except for that one time when that one maniac had tried to strangle her on her way home. Athrun had given her an earful for not reporting the threats when he found out about it later. But if she had reported every threat made to her, Athrun might as well quit the police force and become her personal bodyguard. She could take care of herself. She had never paid heed to them in the past, and she wasn't about to start now.

"What's that?" Miriallia's concerned voice called over and Cagalli realised that the photographer was still watching her from above the partition.

"Probably just a prank." Cagalli quickly dismissed, she scrunched up the piece of paper much like the other one and tossed it into the bin.

* * *

><p>Athrun's head piped up when he heard a knock on his door. Turning his attention away from the files, he spotted Dearka standing by his door.<p>

"Sergeant Elsman." Athrun greeted with furrowed eyebrows. "Aren't you meant to be on your special assignment?" He questioned.

"Actually that's exactly the reason I'm here boss." Dearka replied with a grin as he stepped through the door and closed it behind him. He held up a folder in his hands. "You told me to report to you immediately if she's seen entering a café and talking to anyone."

Athrun's eyebrows arched with interest. "I assume this means you know who she was talking to?"

Dearka dropped the folder he was holding onto Athrun's desk and watched curiously as a frown appeared on his captain's face. Athrun's heart weighed in his chest as he took out the copies of the photos Dearka had snapped of Cagalli in the café. She was chatting happily to a brunet man sitting opposite her by the window seats. Her expressions were lively and spirited like Athrun's known them to be, but his eyes weren't paying attention to her, he was focused on the man she was talking to.

"Who is he?" Athrun asked in a low voice.

"Kira Yamato." Dearka revealed. "He's a waiter and barista at the Sahara Café. 24 years old. I've collected his background information in the following pages." Dearka reported.

Athrun brushed aside the photos and looked at the pages behind it. Holding it up, he skimmed through it quickly as Dearka continued his report.

"He's been living alone in Heliopolis for the past five months. No criminal history I could find, although his whereabouts before he moved to Heliopolis are a mystery. I couldn't find anything on Kira Yamato for the past five years until five months ago. There's also an incident where he was reported missing, he ran away from home for two weeks when he was 16. Other than that, there's nothing special about him."

Athrun listened in as he finished reading what Dearka had basically just briefed. Glancing back at the photos, even though it was taken from a distance, he could tell how unguarded Cagalli's posture was in the photo, and how intensely Kira seemed to be paying attention to her. It didn't make him feel at ease at all. He simply didn't trust him.

"What about his parents?" Athrun asked.

"His mother, Caridad Yamato is a homecook, while his father Haruma Yamato is a retired business consultant. But the funny thing is, I couldn't find anything on them for the last five year either." Dearka revealed.

"Get me more information on what happened in those missing years, and also what happened when he ran away for those two weeks." Athrun ordered.

"Does that mean I can stop following Miss Yula?" Dearka asked hopeful. Not that he minded following a beautiful woman around, or help keep a watchful eye out on her for his captain. But there were other things he could be doing, more useful things to help speed up the investigation, _and_ there was also the dread of what would happen to his wellbeing if she ever found out that he was stalking her every move.

"No. Keep tailing her. That will still be your first priority." Athrun affirmed.

Dearka acknowledged his understanding and made a move to leave before Athrun stopped him.

"Where did you say the Sahara Café was?"

* * *

><p>The bell chimed as a young man with messy brown locks hastily made his way inside. He was slightly out of breath as he walked towards the counter, an anxious expression troubled his face.<p>

"Kira!" A male voice called to him from the back of the shop. "There you are!" A tall and well-built man with sideburns greeted him as he emerged from the back room with an apron around his waist.

"Sorry I'm late Mr Waltfeld!" Kira apologised, bowing embarrassedly. "I was hoping to get some errands done during my break, and ran into some bad traffic on the way back." He explained.

"That's alright Kira, but please go tend to that customer over there." Aisha commented, coming up to stand beside her husband. She pointed to a direction inside the shop. "He's been waiting for a while now, and I haven't had a chance to get his order yet."

Kira bowed again in apology, before quickly grabbing his apron from behind the counter, tying it behind his back, and making his way towards a man seated in the corner.

"Sorry for the wait." Kira said politely as he approached the well-dressed customer. "Can I get you anything?"

A deep set of emerald eyes lifted up to stare at him. Kira froze for a second in its intensity before recovering and plastering a smile on his face. "A coffee perhaps?" He suggested in a friendly manner.

Athrun sat there in silence assessing the brunet in front of him. He had spotted the little hiccup Kira had upon seeing him, and wondered if it was because Kira recognised who he was. There was no point in delaying it.

"You must be Kira." Athrun spoke up finally. He stood up and offered Kira his hand. When Kira returned the handshake firmly, he continued. "I'm Captain Athrun Zala, from the Heliopolis Police Department. I'm also a friend of Cagalli Yula's." Athrun stated as he looked firmly into Kira's eyes. "I just wanted to say thank you for looking after her the other night." Though his gratitude wasn't reflected in the menacing tone in his voice.

"I consider her a friend too." Kira replied, returning Athrun's gaze with equal vigour.

Athrun smiled at him as he released Kira's hand, though his eyes were still that same deep shade of serious green. "Then I hope I can trust you with her." He said evenly. A thinly veiled threat Kira realised.

Kira drew a professional smile on his face in return. "Can I get you anything?" He asked.

"A coffee to go thanks." Athrun replied and watched as Kira walked away to get his order. His eyes narrowed at the brunet's back. There was something in Kira's grip when he shook Athrun's hand that deeply troubled him. He sensed that Kira wasn't ordinary.

Kira thanked Athrun for his patronage as he handed Athrun his takeaway cup and the police captain took his leave.

"What was that about?" Andrew asked as he walked up to Kira, watching with curiosity from the window as the police captain disappeared into the distance.

"A warning." Kira replied, eyes narrowing. To not get too close to Cagalli. "He wouldn't have introduced himself as the police captain otherwise." Kira deducted. From what he knew of the police captain, Athrun Zala wasn't one to throw his rank or authority around, but it seemed he was willing to in order to protect those close to him. Athrun had wanted Kira to know that Cagalli was under his protection.

"Hmm." Andrew murmured as he rubbed his chin. "I guess Cagalli Yula means something to the police captain. She could prove to be a weakness."

After meeting Athrun today, Kira knew that means to be true. Cagalli Yula was definitely a weakness. His own as well.

* * *

><p>Cagalli fired three consecutive shots into the target on the other side. A small grin appeared at her lips as they hit the target, close to the vital points. She moved to reload her gun for the next round.<p>

Tightening her grip and steadying her aim, she fired again, abusing the target practice on the other side of the protective glass. She was almost out of bullets when she noticed that a bullet had hit the target next to hers, dead-on between where the eyes would have been on the silhouette. It was only then she realised someone had joined her at the indoor shooting range and taken up the spot next to her. Lowering the gun and putting the safety back on, she turned to her companion, not at all surprised to see who it was.

Athrun finished firing his rounds, all perfectly executed on target before he turned to Cagalli as well. Lowering his earmuffs as Cagalli had, he angled his head towards her target.

"Getting a little sloppy?" He mocked teasingly.

She glared at him in return. Her shots were perfectly good, just not perfect like Athrun's. They hit the target close enough to the vital organs to take out any man or woman, however only a few of the dozen or so shots fired were spot-on, the rest only came close. Although Cagalli was not about to let that deter her.

"Care to bet on it?" She challenged back.

"Are you sure Miss Yula? It has been a while since I've seen you here. You don't want to get any more practice in beforehand?" He gave her a wry smile knowing already what her response was going to be.

"Bring it on Zala." Her amber eyes glared at his daringly.

Athrun's grin broadened. "Loser buys dinner." He announced the terms of the bet before slipping his earmuffs back on and picking up his gun as Cagalli did the same.

Cagalli turned facing her target 10 metres away. She knew the odds were against her. While her own skills were good, Athrun was better. Cagalli could never beat Athrun's aim, but sometimes she could match him. And she was hoping to do that tonight.

Cagalli counted to three and fired the bullets in her round, as Athrun did the same on his side. Several seconds later and Athrun turned to her smiling accomplished.

"Looks like you'll be paying for dinner tonight." He stated and watched with amusement as Cagalli glared holes at the target practice. Her aim was off by two shots, compared to Athrun's perfect score. Although Athrun mused, if her eyes could shoot, he would have lost a long time ago. Cagalli grumbled to herself as she stalked off to get her belongings.

As he waited for her in the cool evening air outside, he couldn't help but muse over how they often ran into each other at the shooting range, never planned and always on a Tuesday, but not every Tuesday. Every meeting would somehow result in a competition, she would challenge him, or he would challenge her. And although she could never win, she never backed down either. Loser buys dinner which consisted of a burger at a run-in diner close by.

He remembered the first time he saw her there. They had already been acquainted through their jobs, but it was the first time he had seen her outside the capacity of work. Instead of feeling the displeasure and irritation he had expected to feel upon laying eyes on the feisty blonde reporter who gave him no ordinary amounts of grievances during work, he was pleasantly surprised to find that he was quite amicable towards her. He had approached her and asked her who taught her to use a gun. Till this day, Athrun could remember with clear memory the way her expression softened and stiffened at the same time, and her eyes, that brilliant colour of amber, shone with affection, sadness, and pride, as she told him that although it was not her father, it had been her father's idea. Then she had laughed quite heartily although with a hint of melancholy and irony, that her father had hated violence, but had taught her how to use violence to defend herself should it ever become necessary.

When she finally joined him by his car under the night sky, he drove them to a little known diner called The Tasty Fries. Athrun pushed the door to the tiny diner open and they made their way to their usual seats by the back of the diner.

A waitress came up to them and greeted them. "The usual?" She asked with familiarity. "A Tasty Burger Special with fries for the gentleman, and just the burger for the lady?" She confirmed. "Be right back darls."

Cagalli leaned back into her seat and stretched her limbs. She watched as Athrun seemed to relax across from her, although still managing to maintain that impeccable posture. He always had that air about him, confident and regal and somewhat mysterious. Few could take their eyes off him once they really looked. He was stunning, that was something she would never deny.

"So…" Cagalli said as she started the conversation causing Athrun's eyebrows to rise before she had even really said anything. By now, through their long acquaintance, he was already familiar with the body language and tones she used. This particular tone was a telltale sign that she was after something. Likely information.

"…when is the police going to release a list of the suspects?"

Athrun continued raising his eyebrows at her but kept his lips sealed.

It didn't seem to deter her as she asked more questions. "Any DNA evidence found at the crime scene? What about leads from the Alliance Bar? Who the hell is this Amster person? Why did you swipe his cup?" When Athrun's lips still remained shut, Cagalli's patience began to wane. "You must have something Athrun." She finally said exasperated by his silence.

At this she watched him smirk, silently telling her that he did know something but he wasn't about to tell her a dime.

Cagalli's eyes narrowed, getting serious. She knew that the only way to get any kind of information out of the police captain was if she offered him something first. She placed her elbows calmly on the table, her eyes staring intently at the man across from her, ready to assess any kind of expression Athrun might let slip.

"Did you ever get a sketch artist to get a profile of the visitor Clotho Buer had the day before his murder?" She watched with keen interest as Athrun's eyes widened slightly at her words. So he wasn't aware of the visitor, she mused.

Across the table, Athrun assessed Cagalli as she assessed him. He knew she wasn't lying, Cagalli knew better than to try those tricks on him, and he knew her well enough to know despite what her tone or body language suggested, her eyes could never lie. The slight turn of her lips upwards meant she had figured out that he didn't know about this visitor.

"Where did you get this information from?" Athrun asked.

"If I tell you, I want something in exchange." Cagalli bargained, that slight curl of the lips turned into a full-blown grin.

Athrun rolled his eyes. Of course she wanted something in return. "What exactly?"

Cagalli tapped her chin in contemplation, she knew that Athrun wouldn't give up just any information. It had to be a fair deal, but she was going to make the most of it.

"I want an interview." She finally said. "If I tell you my source, and you apprehend the suspect, I want to interview him."

Green eyes narrowed as he considered it. It definitely wasn't ideal. Although they had a lot of leads in the investigation right now, there was nothing solid connecting the murder with Blue Cosmos. Whoever this visitor might be, could be the connection he's looking for.

"I can't let you in the interrogation room. Nor can I set up an interview with the suspect for you. The most I can do is give you a name once we find out who he is, what you do with that information is up to you." Athrun offered.

"Fine with me." Cagalli agreed. "But I want whatever background information you can dig up on him as well."

Athrun reluctantly agreed.

"Her name is Rose. An elderly woman who lives in apartment 3b. Buer's neighbour. She claims a young man, early-mid twenties started visiting the deceased a couple of weeks before the shooting happened, and he was there the day before the shooting. I suggest getting in contact with her and sending a sketch artist down." Cagalli divulged.

The waitress came back with their orders and set it on the table. "Enjoy your meal." She said as she walked away.

Athrun turned back to Cagalli after thanking the waitress. "You drive a hard bargain Miss Yula."

Cagalli smiled smugly, looking pleased with herself. "You know what they say, all's fair in love, war and journalism." She lectured as she casually swiped a fry off Athrun's plate and popped it into her mouth.

"No one says that." Athrun returned, "In fact, I think I've only ever heard you say it." He mused and watched as another fry disappeared from his plate.

"And as I have dedicated my life to uncovering the truth, what I say must be true." The blonde across from him reasoned waving his potato fry around in the air.

"I think Detective Asuka would disagree with that." He challenged while raising an eyebrow. Shinn had been very flustered from embarrassment and exasperation as he had reluctantly admitted to his captain that he had been tricked by the amber-eyed reporter that night. Athrun had almost felt sorry for the boy, Shinn's own embarrassment was almost punishment enough. _Almost._

"Hey! I never _lied_ to him." Cagalli defended.

"You misled him."

"I never said that we were pulling up to where I lived. I simply told him to pull over, it's not my fault he made that assumption and listened to me."

"I'm sure Detective Asuka would not make that mistake again." Athrun assured, smiling amusedly. In the end he had let Shinn take his day off but not before sentencing him to kitchen duty for the next two months as punishment, and Athrun knew that Dearka was deliberately leaving the break room a mess whenever he could.

Athrun lifted his Special Tasty Burger and took a bite into it. As he chewed, Cagalli casually stole another couple of fries from him.

"If you're just going to steal my fries every time, I don't understand why you don't order your own." Athrun commented. It had just occurred to him that she did this every time. Yet she had been doing it for so long, it had only seemed natural that she would eat off his plate.

She grinned as she lifted her own burger. "This way I only have to pay for one share of fries instead of two." She replied as if it was the most obvious thing, before taking a bite of her burger.

Athrun laughed at her logic. "Cheapskate."

"Easy for you to say when you never have to pay." She muttered back between bites.

By the time they finished Cagalli had probably finished off half of Athrun's fries. The waitress came over with the bill.

"So is the gentleman going to pay this time?" The dark-blonde haired waitress asked as she eyed Athrun.

"Still Miss Yula's debt tonight." He grinned widely as Cagalli mumbled incoherent words as she took out her wallet.

The waitress looked on at the odd couple and smiled mischievously. "You know," she said turning to Athrun again, "a gentleman should pay for the lady every once in a while." She prompted as she winked.

Athrun chuckled at the waitress' words. "Good thing she's no lady then." He joked which earned him a hard glare from Cagalli's direction.

"I resent that." Cagalli snarled, then smiled sweetly when she turned to the waitress. "Thanks Sarah." She said as she handed the waitress the payment and tip.

Sarah, who was quite familiar with the two faces shook her head in amusement as they left. "Enjoy your evening you two!" She called out to them.

* * *

><p>"ACHOO!"<p>

She sneezed then shivered as soon as she stepped outside. The temperature had dropped a few degrees since they first entred the diner, the red tank top she wore was no longer sufficient in the cold night air.

Wordlessly, Athrun took off his jacket and draped it across Cagalli's shoulders without a second thought. She looked at it perplexed, not expecting the gesture. Then a deep blush immediately formed on her cheeks, concealed in the darkness of the night. She could feel his warmth radiating in the jacket, his body heat still lingered in its fabric, and his scent tingling her senses.

"Thanks." She muttered almost incoherently.

"I'll drive you home." Athrun offered casually, like it was an everyday occurrence. It then occurred to Cagalli that with the amount of times Athrun had given her a lift home in the past, it really had become a common occurrence. Mana's words repeated itself in her head.

As she got in, and Athrun drove off into the direction of her apartment, Cagalli couldn't help but feel disappointed. Mana was wrong. She was no lady, Athrun had said it himself.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny or its characters and names. This is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate them. I know I don't really reply to reviews (in case I give something away), but I really enjoy reading them, especially all the speculations from you guys. As my lips are sealed, I won't say who's on the right path or not, just continue reading ;D thanks!

* * *

><p><strong>All's Fair in Love, War and Journalism<strong>

**6**

Cagalli walked into the café and heard the familiar bell chime. She had been frequenting often recently, although it was originally to pay off her debt to the brown haired barista that worked here, she had since been coming here for the company.

As she looked around, the place was relatively quiet today and instead of the friendly barista coming to greet her on her entry, Cagalli noticed Kira was hunched over the counter, reading something intently. When he noticed her, a welcoming smile formed on his face, but the keen-eyed reporter did not miss the way he discreetly tried to hide what he had been reading behind the counter.

A smirk formed on Cagalli's lips as she walked up to Kira slowly. As she reached the counter, she casually pointed to a muffin on display before reaching an arm over while the barista was distracted and snatching whatever it was he had hidden from under the counter.

She heard Kira groan beside her as she peered curiously at the glossy magazine now in her hands and the page it was opened to. Her eyebrows raised in recognition, failing miserably at trying to hold back the sudden glint in her eyes.

"I didn't know you were a fan of Lacus Clyne." She teased as she turned back to Kira and grinned profusely. She waved the magazine in front of him, the pink hair the singer was famed for was unmistakable on the pages.

Kira's face blushed and turned red. "I just like her songs." He defended, completely flustered at having been caught gazing at the popular idol's picture. He snatched it back from Cagalli and quickly hid it behind the counter once again.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's why you were daydreaming on the job instead of greeting your favourite customer." Cagalli continued to goad.

"Not sure if you are my favourite customer anymore." Kira muttered under his breath as he begrudgingly placed Cagalli's muffin on a plate. "Besides it's not like I'll ever have a chance with her."

"You sell yourself short Kira Yamato." She gave him a nudge of encouragement. "I admit, she's very pretty and talented. Maybe a little too girly and…pink, but who am I to judge you?" Another smile flashed across her face as she winked at Kira, clearly enjoying the new piece of information she uncovered about him.

Kira grumbled then shook his head in amusement. "You're like the annoying little sister I never asked for."

"Pretty sure I would be the older one." Cagalli retorted.

* * *

><p>Athrun narrowed his eyes as he reread the piece of paper in front of him. He arched a questioning eyebrow at Shinn who was standing in front of his desk.<p>

"Tell me exactly how this happened?" The captain demanded, waving the flimsy piece of paper in the air.

"I was just following Lieutenant Joule's orders." Shinn replied, none too worried.

Athrun glimpsed back at the complaint letter filed against his subordinate and raised his eyebrow again at Shinn. "Did Lieutenant Joule ask you to handcuff Yuna Roma Seiran to a tree and leave him there?"

Shinn fought hard to hold back a snicker. "No sir. However Lieutenant Joule did ask me to get rid of Mr Seiran through any means necessary."

"I see." Athrun mouthed, as he lowered the letter back onto his desk. "So how did Mr Seiran end up being cuffed to a tree exactly?"

"Well…remember that faulty handcuff I reported that wouldn't lock properly? I was supposed to hand it in for disposal, it somehow ended up on Mr Seiran's wrist and attached to a tree branch."

"Are you denying that you were the one that put the handcuff on Mr Seiran?"

"I'm not saying anything in the affirmative or negative captain." Shinn answered before looking away with a sly expression. "Besides, it's not my fault that Seiran's too dumb to realise that the handcuff wasn't even locked or that the branch was flimsy enough that he could have just snapped it in half. And it certainly wasn't my fault that it took him 8 hours to finally free himself. Or that it took him so long to file that complaint, that my memory is now fuzzy on the details that I can neither affirm or deny the allegations made against me." Shinn finished and chanced a glance at his superior wondering what his captain's reaction would be.

He found Athrun shaking in his seat.

Athrun was hunched over his desk, shoulders shaking uncontrollably before the police captain burst out laughing. He was trying so hard to keep a straight face as he reprimanded his subordinate for his out of line behaviour but Athrun found the thought of Yuna Seiran handcuffed and fumbling next to a tree for 8 hours when the cuffs weren't even locked absolutely hilarious and delightful.

His laughter was interrupted by a knock on his door as Yzak walked in.

"Something the matter Zala?" Yzak asked, eyebrows raised high as he glanced from Athrun to Shinn who both looked high with merriment.

Athrun cleared his throat and straightened himself in his chair. "Asuka here was just telling me about the misfortune Mr Seiran suffered."

A knowing smirk now graced Yzak's features. "Well just so you know, I fully back Detective Asuka, and will take any responsibilities for his actions."

"That won't be necessary." Athrun told them. "The handcuff was going to be disposed of anyways. Shinn was supposed to have handed it in the day before the incident, there's no records of Shinn _not_ handing in the faulty cuffs. No one knows how it ended up in Mr Seiran's possession."

Both Shinn and Yzak grinned as the police captain finished. Athrun buzzed Meyrin on the intercom and asked her to draft an official response along those lines. He then turned back to Shinn in front of him and turned serious.

"Although I would loved to have seen Seiran's face as he struggled for hours on end to free himself from a flimsy branch, make sure this doesn't happen again. Understand?"

"Yes captain." Shinn quickly responded.

"You're dismissed Asuka."

Shinn left the room, closing the door behind him. Athrun turned his attention to Yzak now, eyeing the folders in his hands.

"What have you got for me?" He asked.

* * *

><p>"Cagalli!" Stellar greeted her excitedly the second she walked into the bar.<p>

Cagalli gave Stellar a warm hug. "Thanks for letting me borrow your uniform Stellar, it really helped me with the story."

Looking down at the younger blonde, Cagalli couldn't help but feel a surge of protectiveness overcome her. It had been 2 years ago when she found Stellar on the streets, frightened, confused and with nowhere to go. Taking pity on the girl, Cagalli had set up an apartment for her and took care of her until she was reunited with her childhood friends Auel and Sting.

In the end, she didn't get to spend a lot of time with Stellar, too busy with her job and chasing her own demons, but during the limited time they did spend together, she had grown fond of the younger girl. Which was why it pained her so much to know what kind of abuse she must've suffered under the employment of the Alliance Bar. And how much more hardships she would've endured during her young life. She always felt guilty that she couldn't find Stellar sooner than she did.

"Can I ask Stellar, why do you still have the uniform?" If it were her, she would have poured alcohol over it and burned it to a crisp. Yet when she had taken Stellar back to her foster home to gather her things, not long after she had found her, Stellar had taken it with her. Cagalli hadn't known what it was back then, but now that she did, she wanted to know why the other blonde sought to keep it.

Stellar smiled up at her and suddenly looked mature for her age. "Because it's a part of Stellar. It reminds Stellar of where she had been, and where she will never go back to again."

Cagalli's heart swelled as she smiled back at the younger girl. She was proud of Stellar and realised with awe that Stellar was ten times stronger than she would ever hope to be.

"Did Auel forget to lock the front door again?" Sting's voice traveled to the two blondes' location.

Cagalli turned around to find the green-haired owner of the bar with his arms folded, raising his eyebrows at her presence.

Cagalli grinned. "I got your message. Tell me you have something useful for me." She said sitting herself down on a stool facing Sting.

"Stellar, why don't you go help Auel out back? It's almost opening time, he could use some assistance." Sting suggested.

Stellar glanced hesitatingly from Cagalli to Sting before finally walking, although unwillingly, towards the back.

When she was out of view Cagalli addressed Sting. "I take it what you're about to tell me is potentially dangerous if you don't want Stellar to know?"

"If I had my way, you wouldn't know about it either." Sting said firmly. "But I also know that in not knowing, you're going to get yourself in even riskier situations just to find out. So I might as well tell you."

Cagalli leaned her elbows onto the counter, resting her head on her hands. "Go on then." She prompted with a wide grin on her face. It was like watching a child with a lollipop dangled in front of them, Sting mused.

"Logos is an organisation. Specifically five organisations that operate above ground. And together they fund Blue Cosmos. For all intents and purposes they _are_ Blue Cosmos. I was only able to discern four of the five organisations. As it turns out, you know them. I know them. They're a part of our everyday lives."

* * *

><p>"You asked me to look into the parents of the 3 deceased victims, Jonathan Grieves, Orga Sabnak and Clotho Buer, and more specifically who their parents worked for. As you know the Sabnaks and Buers were scientists. Mary and Terry Buer were plant biologists, missing, presumed dead in the South Americas after an expedition gone wrong. Before they disappeared their research were being funded by a company called Stargrazer Inc." Yzak reported, handing Athrun the stack of folders he had been carrying before continuing. "The Sabnaks were neuroscientists working for a research company Artemis Labs before a lab explosion destroyed the entire compound with them in it. After some digging, Artemis Labs is a subsidiary of the more well know Omni Force Group."<p>

"The video game development company?" Athrun interrupted. "What would they be doing with a neuro research lab?" The captain questioned, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Your guess is as good as mine. The first victim, Jonathan Grieves' parents weren't scientists. His mother was a school teacher, his father was a council worker, in the planning and building division. A week after his son's death, Mr Grieves approved a plan which allowed Girty Lue Industries to build a new manufacturing plant in Heliopolis." Yzak continued.

"Girty Lue, the same company our Blue Cosmos member from the Alliance Bar works for. Is it just me or does that sound suspicious?"

Yzak snorted. "If you ask me, someone threatened Grieves senior with junior's life if he didn't approve of the plans. He didn't believe them, they kill his son as promised, and he approves the plan right afterwards in fear of his own life."

Athrun nodded, agreeing with Yzak's conclusions then got up and walked over to his filing cabinet. He searched around in his draws before pulling out several files. Opening them on his desk he scanned the documents again. He came upon the background profiles of the two drunk men from the Alliance Bar. Dan Rogers and Steven Kindle, Dearka had gotten their identities after tailing them home. He skimmed through their profiles before his eyes landed on something that made his heart skip. Athrun quickly got out a blank piece of paper and started scribbling on it.

Yzak leaned over his captain's shoulders and peered with keen interest as he watched Athrun write down the names of all the people they've looked into and finally the companies they worked for. A map was being drawn by Athrun as he started to connect the dots together. When he finished, Yzak stared at the diagram. It connected Rick Amster and Grieves Senior to the Girty Lue, while the Buers and Rogers, worked for Stargrazer Inc. The Sabnaks and Kindle seemed unrelated as they worked for different companies, Omni Force Group and Orbit Co. respectively. However Athrun had clearly circled the initials of each of the companies.

It spelt out _OGOS._

Yzak's eyebrows furrowed in recognition. "Logos. If that's true, then…"

"Logos wasn't just the codename for the companies funding Blue Cosmos' operations. It was an acronym." Athrun finished his thought. All they were missing was the head of the operations. _L_.

Athrun sat back into this seat in deep thought before slowly saying, "We have the Omni Force Group, a video game company, Girty Lue which is a technology corporation, Orbit Co. a transportation company, and Stargrazer Inc is at the forefront of genetically modified food. Dearka's report on Blue Cosmos stated that during their time in the Atlantic Federation, Blue Cosmos used legitimate companies as a front to secretly fund and conduct illegal activities. They would fund their companies through the selling of illegal drugs, and in turn these companies will then fund their underground research into weapons and technological developments. The weapons were then shipped to countries in conflict for profit, instigating instability and unrest which will further cause demand for the illegal shipments." Athrun recalled as his eyes narrowed. "And we now know four of the five companies funding Blue Cosmos."

* * *

><p>"If what you're saying is true then…" Cagalli's voice trailed off, finding it hard to comprehend what Sting had just revealed to her. "…I've been using Orbit Co. to post my parcels for years!" Cagalli suddenly exclaimed in outrage. "Are you telling me that I have, along with the rest of the population, been unknowingly funding organised crime all this time?" She cried out, half in horror and half in disbelief. "How is this even possible?" Cagalli asked trying to wrap her mind around it. "These companies have been around for ages, long before Blue Cosmos infiltrated Orb."<p>

"You're not thinking globally Cagalli. They're not Orb owned corporations. They stared out overseas, Blue Cosmos headed them long before they moved here to Orb." Sting explained. "It's also entirely possible that these companies started out wholly legit but were bought out and infiltrated by members of Blue Cosmos over time."

Cagalli slumped in her seat, looking defeated while shaking her head. "You're right, I'm not thinking properly here. This story is so much bigger than I imagined it to be."

"Too big for you to tackle?" Sting queried, a little hopeful that she would finally admit that it was, and maybe come to her senses to drop the story, before she gets dropped.

"No." Cagalli replied stubbornly and determinedly, to Sting's disappointment but not surprise. "I'm going to see to this till the end. The truth will come out Sting, and when it does Blue Cosmos will be put behind bars."

Sting gave her a wry smile and shook his head. "Why can't you be one of those reporters that only care about a headline?"

Cagalli returned with a smile of her own. "Because there are already too many of those kinds out in the world. And maybe because my father taught me differently. How did you come by this information?"

"I told you I would look into it and I did." Sting replied earnestly. "I still keep in contact with a few people underground. They're not all bad, just caught up in the wrong shit like Auel, Stellar and I were once. And they still owed me favours."

Cagalli nodded her head, as long as Sting didn't have to do anything dangerous to get her this piece of information, she was content. She didn't want to involve her friends any further in this, now that she was getting deeper and deeper into the investigation and finally had an idea of how far Blue Cosmos' reach was.

Even though she knew four of the five companies behind Blue Cosmos now, she knew she couldn't go to print with this story. Not until she had figured them all out and amassed enough evidence to bring them down. Otherwise her story would be just that, words on a piece of paper without any weight to it. She needed more. She needed evidence to pin Blue Cosmos with if the truth was going to make a difference.

"Thanks for all your help." Cagalli said gratefully as she got up from her chair. "Look after Stellar and Auel and be careful."

"That's supposed to be my line." Sting responded, a soft but firm look of concern crossed his features. "This case you're looking into, don't let it be the last story you work on."

Cagalli gathered her belongings, and stuffed her notebook inside her bag. She turned back to Sting just before she left with a steadfast determined expression in her eyes.

"I still have my father's death to solve. This won't be the last story."

* * *

><p>"How do you want to proceed?" Yzak questioned studying Athrun for clues of what his captain might be thinking.<p>

"Back to basics." Athrun replied. "This investigation is still about catching Clotho Buer's killer. We can try going after Blue Cosmos and the companies funding its operations but I don't expect we'll be able to take them down with one swoop."

"So we focus on catching Buer's killer and find out what he or she knows about Blue Cosmos." Yzak finished.

Athrun gave Yzak an affirmitive nod, then pressed the button on his intercom, calling for his secretary. "Meyrin, can you please arrange a meeting for Lieutenant Joule and I to meet with the head of Stargrazer Inc.?"

"Certainly captain." A soft voice came over the intercom. "What should I tell them when they inquire what the meeting is about?"

"Tell them it's in regards to a murder investigation."

"Yes captain." Meyrin answered.

Athrun released the intercom and turned back to Yzak. "Brief Asuka in on this and put him on surveillance. I want to test what Stargrazer's reaction might be to our visit."

He watched as Yzak's expression turned to disapproval. "Asuka's inexperienced." He stated out right, not bothering with hiding his thoughts.

"He's smart, this will be a good time for him to learn." Athrun responded, although seeing no change in Yzak's features, he sensed this wasn't about Shinn.

Sure enough, Yzak revealed what was really bothering him. "This 'special assignment' you've got Elsman on?"

"What about it?" Athrun narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

"It's a waste of resources. Elsman could be pulling his weight here on the investigation." Yzak said bluntly.

"He _is_ working on the investigation."

"He's chasing around after a woman because _you_ ordered him to. If word gets out, it certainly won't help the rumours going around the office about your _special _relationship with Cagalli Yula. And don't expect me to defend you next time."

"What are you implying Yzak?" Athrun demanded, his voice low as a warning. Yzak paid no heed to Athrun's tone.

"I think you're a fool." Yzak spat out, clearly not afraid to speak his mind even to his superior officer. "Not only are you jeopardising your reputation, Yula is going to have your head when she finds out."

"_If_ she finds out." Athrun corrected.

"_When_ she finds out. Don't be a fool Zala." Yzak chided then made his exit.

As Athrun watched him leave, he couldn't help but think what Yzak had said was true. There were other things that Dearka could be doing, more important things for the investigation. Yet Athrun knew that keeping Cagalli Yula safe was important to him. More important than anything.

* * *

><p>The ringing of an incoming call could be heard resonating across the café as the barista hastily ran towards the phone.<p>

"You've reached the Sahara Café, Yamato speaking, how can I help you?" Kira answered into the phone upon picking it up.

"How many wings does an Archangel have?" The person over the phone asked.

Kira's expression grew serious immediately. "None. She has two legs."

"How have you been kid?" The voice on the other side lightened up immediately upon their exchange.

"Are you checking up on me?" Kira accused into the phone.

"Just concerned." The voice answered. "I hear you've been quite close with Miss Yula recently."

Kira's eyes narrowed. "So you've been spying on me?"

"It's what I do." The voice replied with humour on the other end. "You should stay away from her if you know what's good for the both of you." The voice warned, tone turning serious.

"So I've been told." Kira replied. "Besides it's not like I went looking for her. She was the one who walked into my café first."

"And then you chased after her." The man on the phone promptly reminded.

"I wanted to find out what she knew."

"Did you?"

"I couldn't assess much when I was in her apartment and she's rather tight lipped for a reporter. But I'm willing to bet she's already found out about the syndicate's existence in Orb and possibly its benefactors. I don't think she'll back off on this case." He informed. "It's only a matter of time before she realises my connection in this and digs a deeper hole for herself." As he said this, Kira ran a hand down the length of his face in frustration.

"When that happens what will you do?"

He stood silent for a long time considering the question. His purple eyes were a hazy mist, unclear, uncertain, and conflicted. What would he do when Cagalli found out about him?

"What are my orders?" Kira inquired when he finally spoke up.

"I'll leave it up to you to decide what you want to do about Miss Yula. I trust you'll make the right decision."

He wasn't sure if he felt comforted or even more conflicted by this.

"Give Andy and Aisha my regards." The voice on the other side bid before cutting off, leaving Kira to his own thoughts.

* * *

><p>A loud shriek echoed in the dark causing Cagalli's heart to almost jump out of her chest.<p>

"Sorry Scruffles." The blonde cringed as she apologized. The lights in her apartment hallway had blown causing her to unknowingly stumble into the surly cat in the dark.

The cat hissed at her threateningly and Cagalli was thankful that she couldn't see its accusing eyes glaring at her. She fumbled in her bag digging for her keys before groaning in annoyance as she tried to find the seven keyholes and its matching keys in the blackness to unlock her apartment.

After fiddling clumsily for what seemed like ages, Cagalli finally pushed the door to her apartment open. A gust of wind greeted her in the face as she stepped inside. Cagalli switched the light on and peered curiously at the open window by her desk. She thought she had closed it before she left for work that morning.

Rushing over to the window before the wind could make an even bigger mess of her apartment, she had to step over sheets of paper scattered across the living room floor. She closed the window shut and locked the latch. Turning back to her living room she sighed as she knelt to pick up her notes and research files. Gathering them in a bunch she flopped them back onto her desk in a messy pile.

Turning back to the window to close the blinds, Cagalli paused and turned back to the pile of papers she just picked up. Her fingers brushed away a few sheets from the top of the pile before it revealed the letter underneath.

Her heartbeat picked up as she read the message written on it.

_DROP THE STORY OR WE'RE COMING FOR YOU._

* * *

><p>Outside, a shadowed figure peered up at the second floor, where the blonde reporter was in clear view through her window. The darkness and a hood covered his features. He lingered there for a while before disappearing into the shadows of the night.<p>

Across the street, in a parked car, Dearka stared quizzically at the spot the dark figure had disappeared to. He looked down at his DSLR camera, bringing up the last shot he had taken onto the screen, and zoomed in.

A frown appeared on his face.

* * *

><p>Dearka knocked on the open door of his captain's office. Athrun looked up from where he was slumped and straightened himself up as he rubbed his eyes.<p>

"Long night?" The sergeant questioned, deducing that Athrun probably hadn't gone home last night, judging from the bags under his eyes and the crumpled shirt he had on since yesterday.

"Some interesting information surfaced yesterday. I stayed to do some research and lost track of time." Athrun replied and paused as Yzak's words came swimming back inside his head. The lieutenant was right, they needed Dearka on this one. "Talk to Lieutenant Joule, he'll be able to tell you about the developments going on while you were out on assignment. I want you to accompany Asuka on surveillance tomorrow."

"Yes captain." Dearka acknowledged.

"Now, were you after something?" Athrun quizzed, knowing Dearka had dropped by his office this early in the morning for a reason.

Dearka closed the door behind him. "There were some suspicious activity at Miss Yula's apartment last night that I think you should know about." He said as he took out a series of photographs and showed them to Athrun.

Athrun peered at the photos in front of him, feeling a sense of unease wash over him. "Who is he?" He asked.

Dearka shrugged. "I couldn't tell from the distance and the dark. These were the best photos I could get of him. He was lurking outside Cagalli's apartment just after she got home and then left a few minutes later." Dearka informed pointing to the figure in a hoodie and jeans.

"Anything else you can tell me?"

"Well…I clearly recalled seeing Cagalli closing her window before she left for work in the morning. I remember because I was watching her window from where I was parked. When she got home, the window was open."

Athrun's eyes narrowed immediately and he could feel a burning rage surge through his veins. "You think someone broke into her apartment?"

The blond sergeant nodded. "That or I was seeing things."

His fists curled up on the table as he glared at the unidentified man in the photographs. It was as Dearka said, too dark to tell any distinguishable features on the hooded silhouette, but judging at the angle his head was tilted at, he was definitely staring up at Cagalli's window. His heart panged as his eyes shifted to the form of a blonde woman illuminated against the apartment's bright lights. Cagalli was clearly visible from Dearka's and the mysterious man's vantage point.

_Dammit._ He cursed inwardly. He had told her to contact him if she was in trouble hadn't he? Why hadn't she called? Unless she didn't realise someone had been in her apartment. Although Athrun knew the more likely scenario was that she didn't want him to know.

He sighed heavily and leaned back into his chair. There was nothing he could do about her stubbornness. The only course of action he could take, he had already taken. Dearka was his best man on surveillance and shadowing. He would just have to trust Dearka to keep an eye on her.

"I've also got the report you wanted on Miss Yula's activities and whereabouts for the past week." Dearka informed while taking out another stack of photos and laying it out on Athrun's desk. A mischievous smirk appeared on his face then. "Looks like you've got competition boss." Dearka teased as he indicated to the multitude of photos he took of Cagalli seen with the same brown haired barista. "Miss Yula's been visiting the Sahara Café and Kira Yamato _very_ frequently." He stressed.

His jab seemed to have to the intended effect as Athrun's previously grave expression turned into an irritated one. Athrun shot Dearka a warning look as Dearka continued his report.

"In the last week she went into the Around The Orb building four times, all of which were when Yuna Roma Seiran was out of office. She was at the doctor's for a check-up on her ankle on Monday morning, which you will be pleased to know has healed fully. She was also at an indoor shooting range on Tuesday night," Dearka paused to smile broadly, "but I don't have to tell _you_ who she went to dinner with that night." He said causing Athrun to slam his hand against his face. He was completely unaware of Dearka tailing them that night, which probably spoke volumes of how good Dearka actually was.

"Anything else?" Athrun asked after he managed to pry his hand away from his face. He leveled Dearka with a glare, warning him to not to overstep his boundaries.

Dearka's grin remained on his face. He had been dying to tease his captain about this ever since he saw him enter the shooting range where Cagalli Yula was. "Only that you should really pay next time." He winked at his captain.

"If you have nothing of value to say, kindly stop wasting my time." Athrun deadpanned.

"Ah…there is one more thing." Dearka said as he put the rest of the files he was carrying in front of Athrun. "Aside from her daily visits with Mr Yamato, and her obligatory stop at The Orb office, Cagalli Yula also frequents a bar, the Interstellar. I have strong reason to believe that this is where she gets her information from."

Athrun picked up the folder and flipped it open. There was a photograph of the front of the bar. It didn't look very grand, tucked away in a little corner.

"What makes you say that?" Athrun asked curiously at how Dearka came to his conclusion.

"Because the owner of the bar is Sting Oakley." Dearka said as Athrun flipped the page and came to Sting's profile. "He used be a minor-gang leader in Kaguya before he was caught and thrown in prison."

Athrun's eyebrows raised, skimming through Sting's profile, pondering how the hell Cagalli was involved with Oakley.

"For all intents and purposes, Oakley hasn't been involved with the underground since he got out of prison. He moved to Heliopolis and started anew. The business he has at the Interstellar Bar checks out as fully legit."

"But where does a guy who has just been released from prison get the funds to start his own bar?" Athrun asked puzzled, not quite believing what Dearka had said. "I'm assuming all his previous assets were confiscated."

Dearka nodded in confirmation. "That's because he received a loan from an anonymous lender."

"Any ideas who?"

"Well…here's the weird part, I traced the anonymous lender to the Athha Estate of the late Uzumi Nara Athha. Since his death the large Estate and inheritance had been largely left untouched, as his only heir, his daughter has supposedly been living overseas since she was 16...unless she's no longer overseas?" He raised a curious eyebrow at Athrun, trying to assess his captain's reaction, "Athrun, are you aware of Cagalli Yula's identity?"

Athrun didn't respond however he held no indications of surprise on his face.

"You already knew."

Athrun was silent for a while longer before finally speaking up. "I think it's best if you don't mention it to Miss Yula. I don't think she wants people to know who she is."

Dearka nodded curtly. "I gotcha boss. My lips are sealed."

* * *

><p>Dearka exited the meeting room and headed out of police headquarters. He had just been briefed in on the plan for tomorrow. He was to accompany Shinn in stalking the movements of Stargrazer Inc. However in the meantime, he still had his assignment for today to complete.<p>

Stalking a Miss Cagalli Yula.

Dearka checked the time on this watch, it was already lunchtime which meant that Cagalli was likely on her lunch break. Dearka pulled on his sunglasses, hid his blond hair underneath a navy cap, then got inside his car.

He pulled up just across the street from a popular kebab stand. A smile ignited his face as he spotted a mess of blonde hair waiting in the queue. Over the past week, he had gotten quite familiar with the other blonde's routine. Dearka got out his long lens camera from his backpack and held it up to his eye, zooming in on his target. An eyebrow lifted as he spied a familiar brunet male approach her from the sidewalk.

* * *

><p>"Kira?" Cagalli questioned when she recognised the purple eyed barista join her in the queue.<p>

"Cagalli, hi." Kira greeted as he came to a stop, lining up behind her. "I haven't seen you at the café today."

"Sorry, I was distracted this morning." Cagalli replied uneasily, thinking back to the note in her apartment the night before. It didn't help that she found the same message waiting for her when she got into work that morning. She wondered how much they knew about her. Had she compromised the safety of Stellar, Auel and Sting at the bar? Did they know that she visited Kira at the Sahara Café?

"Is something wrong?" Kira asked, his eyes widened in concern.

She looked up at Kira and smiled reassuringly, "Nothing I can't handle." She hoped. Trying to change the subject she asked, "What are you doing here?" It was unusual to see Kira outside the café and without his usual apron on.

"I'm on my break." Kira replied. "Don't get me wrong, Aisha's cooking is delicious, but I kind of wanted something other than what was served at the café. Mr Waltfeld recommended this kebab place. He said to try it with the yoghurt."

Cagalli's face immediately scorned. "Yoghurt? You have to try it with the chilli sauce." She insisted.

"I guess I could try it with the chilli. Although Mr Waltfeld insisted I get the yoghurt."

"Well I insist you get it with chilli sauce!" Cagalli exclaimed then turned back around as they reached the front of the line and ordered Kira's kebab for him with an extra helping of extra hot chilli sauce.

Kira could only whimper on the inside as he watched the server pour an exuberant amount of red sauce over his kebab. He had a feeling he was not going to enjoy this as much as Cagalli would like.

* * *

><p>Dearka watched as the two received their food and walked off towards the park to find a quiet place to eat. He got out of his car, camera strapped to his shoulder and followed discreetly after the pair. As he turned the corner someone slammed into him from the opposite direction. The impact knocked the sunglasses off his face. He reached out a hand to try to steady the brunette girl from falling backwards.<p>

"Are you alright miss?" Dearka inquired, his voice gentle and concerned.

When Miriallia managed to finally regain her balance, she looked up at the wall she had walked into and found a pair of charming purple eyes staring down at her.

"Ah…I'm…fine. Thank you." She stuttered, having being caught off guard by her proximity to the guy in front of her. Her eyes shifted to the hand that was still holding her steady.

Dearka seemed to notice it too and promptly let go. "My apologies, Miss…?"

"Hawwe." She replied, unsure why she had willingly given a stranger her name. Perhaps it was the ease the man in front of her had asked for her name, or the lazy charm he possessed so naturally.

"Miss Hawwe." Dearka finished, smiling a charismatic smile at her. At the back of his mind, he wondered why that name sounded familiar. He was sure that if he had met such a cute girl before, he would most definitely remember her. And she was definitely cute.

"You're a photographer?" Miriallia asked when she noticed the camera Dearka was carrying.

Dearka simply smiled and nodded. Technically he was a police officer, but he supposed he could pass as a photographer too.

"That's a really nice lens you've got there." Miriallia remarked, admiringly. "It's a long distance lens right? You can zoom up to 100 meters with this!" She exclaimed. If only Kisaka would agree to buy her one of those for work, she thought as she stared at Dearka's camera in envy.

"You know your stuff." Dearka complimented, amazed at the brunette's knowledge.

"That's because I'm a photographer too." Miriallia answered. It was then that Dearka realised she was carrying a camera strapped across her shoulder as well. He wondered what kind of photos she took and suddenly became interested in knowing how the brunette saw the world through her lens.

From the corner of his eye he spotted Cagalli and Kira's figures disappearing into the distance, and cursed inwardly. He had a job to do, and unfortunately flirting with the pretty girl in front of him was not part of it.

"Sorry, I just remembered I'm actually in a hurry. Maybe next time you can show me your photos Miss Hawwe." He said as he winked at her. Maybe when this case was over, he could look her up and _accidentally_ bump into her again. It wouldn't be too hard to look up a photographer with the last name Hawwe.

Dearka excused himself and followed after Cagalli and Kira.

Miriallia watched as the stranger rushed down the road. Strange, she didn't even know who he was, how could he be sure there was going to be a next time? She took a step towards her original direction when her eyes landed on the fallen sunglasses on the concrete. Miriallia bent down to pick it up and then looked behind her.

"Wait! Your sunglasses!" She called after the handsome blond stranger.

* * *

><p>Miriallia walked in the general direction of where she had seen the tall blond man head in before he disappeared from her sight. Her eyes came down to rest on the shades in her hands and she sighed. A perfectly good looking man literally crashed into her life and then vanished in the next second. How was she going to find him? She didn't even know his name.<p>

Deciding to give up and head back to the office like she was supposed to, Miriallia turned around and started to head out of the park. She was walking towards the roadside when she noticed a familiar blonde sitting on a park bench 50 metres away laughing hysterically at her companion who looked like he was choking to death.

Miriallia recognised her friend immediately. Then an eyebrow lifted up curiously as she took proper notice of the blonde's companion. Cagalli was rarely if ever spotted in the presence of a man, and when she was it was usually with the police captain. Miriallia noted with great intrigue that it was actually not Athrun Zala this time but a young man with brown hair.

A smirk crossed her face. As she was deciding on whether to intrude in on them, or wait to interrogate Cagalli later about this, a faint but familiar sound caught her attention. Miriallia looked around trying to pinpoint where the noise was coming from. She intuitively recognised it as the clicking of the camera, something she was accustomed to hearing everyday as a photographer. Her eyes spotted some movement coming from the bushes on her right. As Miri took a few steps back to get a better view, her eyes landed on the familiar dark blue cap and blond hair peeking through from underneath.

It was the man she ran into earlier. He hadn't noticed her. She was still some distance away and out of his line of sight.

Miriallia stared at the form of the stranger as he crouched in hiding behind the bushes, camera pointing. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. What was he taking a picture of? She followed the direction of his lens, leading her back to where her eyes had previously been. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

The camera was pointed directly at Cagalli and her brown haired companion.


End file.
